Yusuf Islam, philanthropist, educator, and formely international pop star known as Cat Stevens until his conversion to Islam in 1977, was recently in Jeddah to promote the opening of the 4.5 million pound sterling Al-Maqam cultural center in London. Developed by the UK charity Waqf Al-Birr Educational Trust founded by Yusuf in 1992, the center, apart from providing community services, is intended to improve the image of Islam in Britain. “Al-Maqam is a multifunctional, community center whose purpose is to present Islam and Islamic civilization to Britain and to the West in general in a way that counteracts the negative news about Islam and Muslims often dominating the media especially after the horrendous events of September 11,” Islam told the Saudi Gazette. Al-Maqam, which means ‘place of learning' in Arabic, has conference facilities, a youth center, an exhibition hall, a bookshop, and a café. The center will hold exhibitions of Islamic art, crafts and drama, and the youth center will cater to the spiritual and social needs of the new generation of young British Muslims. Yusuf Islam said that the center would be educational as well as cultural providing an ecumenical environment for creative expression, where scholars and artists from around the world could meet, work, and interact. Widely known for his philanthropic and educational activities in Britain and elsewhere, Yusuf Islam has founded a number of Islamic primary and secondary schools in London. His charity, Small Kindness, supports victims of famine in Africa and orphans in other countries of the world. He has received a number of international awards and honorary degrees for his work promoting world peace and for his humanitarian and educational endeavors. Yusuf stopped writing and recording songs after his conversion to Islam, but in the 1990's began making recordings with Islamic themes and supporting international charity events, such as, Live Aid and Band Aid, as well as concerts promoting tsunami disaster relief and minefield clearance. He famously credits his return to recording to the time when his son, Mohammed, brought a guitar into the house, and Yusuf picked it up and started playing it, which eventually led to the 2006 release of his first all-new pop album for 30 years, entitled, “An Other Cup.” __
