Sami Yusuf

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Sami Yusuf

Born	July, 1980
Website http://www.samiyusuf.com (Official Website) http://www.samiyusufonline.com (Official Fan Site)

Sami Yusuf is a British singer-songwriter of Azeri origin described as the Islamic Bono [1]& [2] He was born in Tehran, Iran to Azerbaijani parents[3] in July 1980 and raised in the London.

Signed to Awakening Records, his first album Al-Mu'allim, self-produced, was released in July 2003 and attained huge success. His second album, My Ummah, which was released in 2005, comes in two versions, a musical version and one with just percussion. Yusuf's music comprises mostly of songs to do with Islam and being a Muslim in today's world. He also deals with many social and humanitarian issues in his music. Presently, he is fast becoming a very popular figure in the Islamic world, having made videos for several of his tracks.[4] A third album is planned for release during mid-2008. Sami performed two of the songs from his upcoming album in his Wembley concert (21 October 2007), and during his US tour, organised by Islamic Relief. [5]

1 Biography
2 Criticism
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Sami Yusuf is a British composer, pop singer and an accomplished musician. He was born in July 1980 into a musical family of Azeri origin, thus music played an integral part in his life.

Sami learnt to play several instruments at a very young age and gradually began to show a keen interest in singing and composing. He studied music at several institutions and with renowned composers and musicians including composers from the Royal Academy of Music in London, one of the world most prestigious music institutions.

Sami has been composing from a very young age and his beautiful voice is supplemented by his extensive knowledge of music theory and harmony. He has also a good understanding of the Middle Eastern modes (or Maqams).

To his credit, Sami has sold over a million copies of his debut album 'al-Mu'allim' and his second album 'My Ummah' is exceeding sales of three million copies worldwide.

Sami is a devout Muslim who sees songs as a means of promoting the message of love, mercy, peace and tolerance and encouraging the youth to be proud of their religion and identity.

To date he has performed at sell out concerts in over 30 countries across the world from Istanbul to Casablanca, from USA to Germany. The concert in Turkey drew an audience of over 200,000, his biggest concert so far.

"Sami Yusuf is the biggest name in Muslim Music - anywhere" The Independent

[edit] Criticism

Nevertheless, Yusuf has sparked controversy due to the nature of his shows which critics claim have more in common with western pop concerts than Islamic spiritual values he claims to espouse.[6] However he has published a rebuttal to these claims on his website.[7]

Al-Mu'allim