Musician Yusuf Islam: Finding music after tragedy

Father and son

Back when Cat Stevens discovered Islam (as a faith and surname), he eschewed music to follow a more conservative approach to his religion, famously selling his guitars to raise money for charity. In the years since, Yusuf Islam has slowly edged his way back into music – first through recordings of songs for children, then through sparse vocal and drum arrangements on rare occasions. But after the US government barred him from entering the country because of alleged links to terrorism, Yusuf has began to explore the use of instruments and collaborations with other non-Muslim artists (he acknowledged his fateful US trip was to collaborate with musicians in Nashville). Soon after, he scored a Christmas Number 2 single in the UK with his Cat Stevens hit “Father and Son,” sung with Irish star Ronan Keating. Now, in response to the tsunamis that killed hundreds of thousands in Asia, Yusuf will headline a charity concert featuring local artists in Indonesia next week, along with opening an Indonesian branch of his own charity Small Kindness. Featured at the concert will be his first new pop composition in 28 years featuring (gasp) actual musicians, a song called “Indian Ocean.” While pop stars have often performed charity concerts for various causes, the song “Indian Ocean” was written especially for the victims of the tragedy. “Like everyone else, I was so shaken by the enormity of this human tragedy, and the song just came without effort,” said Yusuf. “It is my contribution towards helping to rebuild the broken spirits of the victims of the disaster.” The track features, among others, AR Rahman, the genre-spanning Indian composer/producer, Magne Furuholmen of A-Ha fame, and Travis drummer Neil Primrose. Along with Yusuf’s earlier honouring by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and other Nobel Prize laureates with a “Man of Peace” award, Yusuf’s continued high-profile philanthropy may serve to kill his US State Department opponents with acts of (proverbial and real) kindness. Also, Yusuf braved a firestorm of criticism from some Muslims who disagreed with his resurgent musical interests (he issued an extensive response to this). Still, the expanded musical breadth may disappoint some who expect a stylistic and prolific re-emergence to Yusuf’s former persona. “It’s not a return to Cat Stevens,” says Yusuf. “I see it more as a natural response to express my concern as a Muslim and as an artist.”

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.