THOUSANDS of British Muslims gathered at Wembley stadium last night for a special concert organised to help the victims of war-torn Darfur.
The event, titled A Concert for Peace in Darfur, was billed as the Muslim Live 8 and was organised by charity Islamic Relief.
Among the headline acts were Danish outfit Outlandish, American country and western star Kareem Salama and top Islamic performer Sami Yusuf who visited Darfur earlier this month as part of the event.
The concert was also backed by the British government which is spearheading efforts to press the Sudanese government to stop violence in the western province.
In a pre-recorded message Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the Wembley crowd the British government were committed to the plight of the victims of Darfur.
“An injustice anywhere is an attack on justice everywhere and so we will continue working together with all of you to bring this suffering to an end,” he said.
“I want to thank all of you … from the artists and musicians who are performing here today, to religious leaders from all communities who have been leading prayers and campaigns for the people of Darfur.”
Brown added: “The fact that so many of you are here tonight shows how deeply people from communities all over Britain care about the people of Darfur and their plight.”
Topping the event was 27-year-old performer Sami Yusuf who has a huge following amongst the Muslim community.
The Iran-born performer, who visited Darfur earlier this month as part of the concert,
said more needed to be done on Darfur because “this is an issue between Muslims, Muslims killing Muslims, some people think it’s shameful that people haven’t really stood up.”
“This is a great opportunity for British Muslims to really do something,” he told AFP
Later, addressing the crowd, he said: “Today you can be Muslim and you can be British.”
The United Nations says that some 200,000 people have been killed and more than two million displaced as a result of the conflict in Darfur, which has been going on for over four years.
