Sami Yusuf

Sami Yusuf was born in 21 July 1980 in Tehran to Azerbaijani parents.[23][6] His grandparents are from Baku, Azerbaijan, which they left to Britain when it was recaptured by the Bolsheviks after the First World War.[24] From an early age, Yusuf showed great interest in music.[7] He was influenced by the wide range of musical genres available to him in his home town of Ealing in West London, immersing himself especially in Western classical music and Middle Eastern music.[25] He learned the piano and violin as well as traditional instruments including the oud, setar, and tonbak.[26] At the age of 16, Yusuf experienced a spiritual revival that made him become a "more committed Muslim".[19] In 2003, although considering pursuing a career in law, he produced and released his first album.[23] It quickly became an international success and launched Yusuf's professional music career.[25] Yusuf studied music as a composition student at the prestigious Royal Academy, as well as at Salford University in north-west England.[24]

Spiritique is the name Yusuf has given to his unique musical style that blends elements of Western and Eastern sounds. The overarching theme of Yusuf's lyrics is one of an inclusive spirituality.[27][28] His first album, Al-Mu’allim, in English with some Arabic lyrics, became a huge success especially across North Africa and the Middle East.[7] It was followed by My Ummah, and together album sales quickly reached 10 million.[29][14] Yusuf has performed across five continents. His concerts— including ones at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Wembley Arena in London,[30] and the Velodrome in Cape Town, South Africa— sold out.[31] 250,000 people came to hear him perform in Taksim Square in Istanbul.[32][33][34] Time called Yusuf "Islam's Biggest Rock Star",[35] while The Guardian wrote of him, "The Biggest Star in the Middle East is a Brit".[36]

Playing in Farum Arena, Denmark, Grugahalle in Germany, and De Doelen in the Netherlands, Yusuf introduced his forthcoming album, Wherever You Are.[69] He performed in Azerbaijan for the first time in 2006, for the second time in 2015 (14-15 March), and 22 March 2017 in Heydar Aliyev Palace in Baku, 250,000 people attended his performance in Taksim Square in Istanbul to see Yusuf perform in 2013.[70] Yusuf has played across four continents, packing venues such as Wembley Arena in London, Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and The Velodrome in Cape Town, South Africa. He sings in English, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Azeri, Malay and Urdu and is backed by a range of both classical and ethnic instruments.[71] Yusuf also performed in Washington DC.[72]

Yusuf performed in Dubai for the first time in December 2016. He premiered the song "Glorification", inspired by the poetry of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.[73]

Since early in his professional career, Yusuf has participated in humanitarian initiatives through performing benefit concerts, releasing charity singles, and acting on behalf of organizations working to relieve suffering and poverty.[52] In response to the 2010 Pakistan floods that wreaked havoc in the country and affected 20 million lives in the summer of 2010, he promptly released a charity single entitled "Hear Your Call", performed in English and Urdu, to raise funds for the displaced Pakistanis in a joint-effort with the UN-sponsored charity organization Save the Children.[74][75]

In 2014, he was appointed "UN Global Ambassador" for the World Food Programme.[76]

Although a Shia Muslim by birth, Sami declared that he has embraced Sunni Islam while growing up. Sami spoke of his background as "diverse" and cited this as evidence for his "tendency to bring people together".[77][78]

Sami Yusuf married in c. 2005. His wife is of German origin and had converted to Islam before she met Yusuf.[79]

Sami Yusuf has gained widespread popularity throughout the Muslim world for his spiritual music.[80] But artists like him and Maher Zain have faced some opposition from conservative Muslims who deem music impermissible.[80] In 2006, Yvonne Ridley, a British journalist and a convert to Islam, wrote a censurious article in opposition to what she perceived as a pop culture that demeans Islam. She considered Sami's open national affiliation to be lackadaisical about conflicts in the Islamic region in which Britain was participating, like the Iraq war.[80][81] In response, Sami wrote an open letter extensively discussing his stance on music and the modern art industry in general from both an Islamic jurisprudence perspective and a social one.[82][83] The response was commended by several commentators.[78][82]

In a previous interview, Yusuf described himself as generally apolitical.[78] Later in 2017, he wrote an open letter criticizing the Trump Muslim ban. Quoting the famous poem First they came, Yusuf emphasized solidarity between the Western and Muslim worlds and opposed Trumpism.[84]

In 2009, Yusuf was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in recognition of his "extraordinary contributions to the field of music" by Roehampton University, London.[85][86] Silatech appointed him as their first Global Ambassador in the same year, later joining Ahmad Al Shugairi in the same position.[87]

Widely regarded as the highest profile Muslim musician in the UK, Yusuf has appeared each year since 2010 on the list of the "World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims".[88][89]

In 2014, the United Nations appointed him Global Ambassador Against Hunger, and in 2015 the UN appointed him as an "Elite Ambassador" for the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week.[90][91]

In 2016, Yusuf received a Recognition Award for his contributions to promoting the message of peace and tolerance as part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum World Peace Initiative.[92]

In 2019, Yusuf received an honorary diploma from the First Vice President of Azerbaijan for his contributions to promote Azerbaijani music and culture.[93][94][95][96][97]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sami Yusuf.

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