October 22, 2007

Muslim Live 8 Concert Raises Money For Darfur

London's Wembley Arena has played host to many high-profile concerts, including this summer's tribute to Princess Diana. But on Sunday, Wembley was the scene of a different kind of concert, one many are calling the first of its kind.

Ten thousand Muslims gathered at the arena for what is being dubbed Muslim Live 8, a concert to raise money for and awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The sold-out crowd heard music from Outlandish, an MTV award-winning hip-hop band, and Muslim-American country singer, Kareem Salama. But Sami Yusuf, labeled by Time as "Islam's biggest rock star," drew the most fervent cheers from fans.

Yusuf is not widely known outside of the Muslim community, but he has sold millions of albums and enjoys a huge fan following. Born in Iran but raised in Britain, the pop star recently went on a fact-finding trip to Darfur. He told the Press Association that "nothing compares to seeing it and witnessing it with your own eyes. I saw the suffering and I saw the pain. I can tell you people are in need of urgent help."

The crowd at Wembley was less receptive to a video message from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown; while Brown praised the audience, the London Guardian reports that the crowd "booed and jeered throughout." However, Conservative leader David Cameron's video was received more warmly.

According to the Guardian, there were queues "for the makeshift mosque in the arena's 200-seat restaurant and the rush was for prayer spaces before the show began." In order to respect Muslim customs, the venue sold halal food and no alcohol for the event.

Organizers hoped the concert would raise nearly 2 million pounds to help the victims of the Darfur crisis and, according to the Guardian, at least 40,000 pounds were raised in a period of just five minutes. The event is being hailed as a huge success.

AFP and BBC News have more on the concert.

Photo of Outlandish by Raj Taneja

Posted at 3:47 PM
Posted to: Africa, Europe, Gordon Brown, Sudan, U.K.
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