Nasheed – Islamic songs or chants that relay historic and religious sentiments – has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. Leading purveyors have achieved pop-star status, selling millions of albums and performing arena world tours. Sami Yusuf is one of the biggest nasheed stars – here are five others.
Ahmed Bukhatir
The 40-year-old Emirati is easily the most high-profile nasheed artist in the region. He is the only singer from the genre to top the local music charts, with his album Hasanat in 2007. He was also the first singer from the GCC to sing in French, on the track Pourquoi les hommes pleurent from his album Moments with Allah.
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
In addition to being a successful nasheed artist, the 39-year-old Kuwaiti is also known for his unique style of recitation of the Quran, and is lead imam at the Grand Mosque of Kuwait. He has released 10 albums and regularly presents new music on YouTube. Among his most popular records are Anaqeed (2009) and its sequel, Anaqeed 2 (2011).
Zain Bhika
The 42-year-old, from South Africa, has released 12 albums and has a large fan base that spans Africa, United Kingdom, South East Asia and Australia. He is known for his austere tracks, which are mainly self-composed and performed a cappella or with minimal percussion. His latest album was last year's The Passing Traveller.
Maher Zain
The 35-year-old Lebanese-Swede is one of the biggest nasheed stars. A former R&B singer, songwriter and music producer, he made the musical shift to the genre in 2009 with the release of Thank You Allah, followed by the even bigger-selling Forgive Me in 2012. His latest album, One, was released this year.
Dawud Wharnsby
The Canadian multi-instrumentalist is also a poet, educator and television personality. He embraced Islam in 1993 and has released 11 albums fusing spiritual lyrics with folk music. In 2009, he was named as one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in a list compiled by The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in Jordan.
