Profile of Yusuf Islam
He was born Steven Demetre Georgiou, in
Having left school at the age of 16 with an ‘A’ grade O-Level in Art, he entered Hammersmith Art Colleges and the following year, 1966, as ‘Cat Stevens’, he recorded his first single. From then right up to 1977 Cat Stevens composed and sang many hit records including ‘Mathew and Son’, ‘Here Comes My Baby’, ‘Wild World’, ‘Morning Has Broken and ‘Moonshadow’, selling approximately 40 million long playing records throughout the world.
Following a bout of TB during his career, Cat Stevens undertook an ongoing search for peace and ultimate spiritual truth. This yearning often expressed in his songs and reflected through his investigations into eastern faiths such as Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Astrology, resulted in this embracing the Islamic faith in December 1977. ‘Cat Stevens’ became Yusuf Islam.
Since embracing Islam, Yusuf Islam has married and now has five children.
He is a leading and active member of the Muslim community in
The School grew in popularity, numbers increased very quickly and in the following year the waiting list exceeded one thousand.
In 1989 he set up the Islamia Girls’ Secondary School, teaching up to GCSE examination level. This soon became top in local examination results and set a new standard for Muslim Schools in the
OTHER EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Brother Yusuf is also Chairman of the United Kingdom Islamic Education Waqf (UKIEW) which offers financial help to Muslim schools. He is also Chairman of the Association of Muslim Schools which gives advice on educational matters and representation to over 40 schools in
WAQF AL-BIRR EDUCATIONAL TRUST Waqf al-Birr Education Trust a registered UK Charity, was founded by Brother Yusuf Islam in 1992 specifically to cater for Da’wah as well as educational research and development.
It is instrumental in providing expert advise and assistance to both new and well established Muslim schools in matter relating to staff recruitment, curriculum development and teacher training. This is done through its involvement with the International Board of Educational Research and Resources (IBERR).
In September 1996 Waqf al-Birr opened its
This spoken- word production, which is designed for both Muslim and a non-Muslims listening public, is Brother Yusuf’s first official record since departing from the music business nearly twenty years ago. This latest production is a Book and CD / Cassette recording of ‘A is for Allah’, which teaches Islam.
This spoken- word production, which is designed for both Muslim and a non-Muslims listening public, is Brother Yusuf’s first official record since departing from the music business nearly twenty years ago. This latest production is a Book and CD / Cassette recording of ‘A is for Allah’, which teaches Islam.
RELIEF WORK Muslim Aid, an international aid agency, was established by Brother Yusuf Islam in 1985 in co-operation with other Muslim organisations, he being the founding Chairman.
Its aim was to alleviate poverty and provide relief for the victims of wars and natural disasters. In 1994 / 1995 the organisation helped some 400,000 people in need around the world, distributing around £2 million in aid.
Last year Brother Yusuf resigned his role as Chairman and left Muslim Aid, but is still very actively involved in Relief with his new charity Small Kindness which concentrate on orphans and families. He currently supports 2,500 orphans and children in Kosova and is supporting ‘100 – Homes’ building project in
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