A Muslim Live8 is to be staged at Wembley, London, to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, it was announced on Monday.
The charities Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid, which are organizing the event, want the concert to raise funds and awareness about the genocide in the region, where combatants and victims are all Muslim.
Speaking at a press conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Jehangir Malik of Islamic Relief said: "We are going for our own equivalent of Live8. We are going for a concert at the end of Ramadan to celebrate Eid. It will be people trying to raise funds and raise the profile."
The gig will be headlined by British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf, who has sold more than 2 million albums. Yusuf sings nasheeds, an Islamic style often performed a cappella.
delegates
Malik was one of four delegates on a British government-backed trip to Darfur, where they met refugees, tribal leaders, aid workers and government officials. The delegation called for investment to boost security, and for wells and skills projects.
With the exception of Malaysia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Muslim countries have been slow to help Darfur, they said.
"This is a thorny issue for us and it is clear that we have to do more. It is a challenge for us because people are highly motivated and get highly charged in other areas, and we need to do considerably more," Malik said.
Fareena Alam, editor of the Muslim magazine Q News, described the response from British Muslims as "shameful."
"We can get hot and bothered about Iraq. There is a lot of information about Darfur. There is no doubt this is Muslim-on-Muslim violence," she said.
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