By Fatima Khonat

So there we were, doing all those laborious tasks the Editor had demanded us to do when only one of the most talented Nasheed artists walked into the media room. Hearts pulsing and trying to keep the ecstatic smiles hidden of our faces we managed to grab a few words with him...without leaving him thinking of The Revival team as freaks.

[i]By Alveena Salim[/i]

[b]You pull up to a red light beside a car full of rude-boy wannabes blasting one of the latest RnB/hip-hop/rap tunes, and before the light turns green, you’ve heard of four different sex acts, someone’s mum cussed, you’re told to get high on drugs and encouraged to beat up the “ho that steps outta line”. [/b]

The word "Nasheed" is just an Arabic term meaning Islamic songs. Nasheeds aren't just about Allah (swt) and the Prophet (saw), but they cover all sorts of issues concerning the Ummah today.

Nasheeds have been around ever since the time of the Holy Prophet (saw), yes that is 1400 years ago! In total there were 45 Munshideen (Nasheed artists) at the time of the Holy Prophet with Hassan ibn Thabit (ra) being the favourite.

[b]Sami Yusuf, largely unknown to the Western world, is dubbed ‘Islam’s Biggest Rock Star’ by Time magazine.[/b]

He was born in Tehran but grew up in London in a family of musicians and started composing music at a very young age. He later studied classical oriental music in London, alongside renowned composers and musicians including composers from the Royal Academy of Music in London, which is one of the world’s most prestigious music institutions. He has also studied Islam and Arabic from Al-Azhar University in
Egypt and is able to sing in Urdu, Arabic, English, Turkish and Persian.