Eid in the Square 2008

Date: Saturday 11 October
Time: 1pm to 5pm
Admission: FREE

Eid in the Square celebrates the Muslim Festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, a period observed simultaneously by millions of followers of Islam around the world, including London. The Eid-ul-Fitr celebration is an exciting time and brings diverse communities, families and friends together.

This is the third year that the Eid celebrations will be held at Trafalgar Square. Visitors this year will be able to experience live entertainment from artists including Aa'shiq Rasul, Abdullah Rolle and Shahid Falahi, plus enjoy various stalls and exhibitions on display. There will also be a children’s play area and prayer marquees for adults.

Performers will include:

Aa'shiq al-Rasul

Aa'shiq al-Rasul - 'Lovers of the Prophet(s)' - first formed as a nasheed group in 1998. The core members are Amran Ellahi, Sheraz Yaqub, Kamran Ellahi and Tahir Khan and percussionist Usman Malik. They featured on 'Yusuf Islam & Friends - In Praise of The Last Prophet!' and have produced 6 albums in the past ten years.

Abdel Kader Saadoun and Takalid

Takalid are a British based group led by Abdel Kader Saadoun who in his wide musical repertoire specializes in North African Rai music. His initiative with Takalid is a fusion of drums from around the Islamic world with Daf Tabla Dholak Dhol featured amongst others.

Abdullah Rolle

Abdullah Rolle, from Clapton, East London, has over 20 years' experience in the music industry. His interest in music started at an early age, and he studied music production at university. Abdullah spent most of the 1980s and 1990s travelling between London, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto working for major record labels and world famous artists. In 2004 he spent time learning about Islam and studying the Qur'an. He has since used his music skills to produce high quality audio lectures for Al-Quran Society and worked in the community including the Islamic Sharia Council.

Amir Awan

Amir Awan is a British composer/singer/songwriter from North London. Growing up in a practising Muslim family, Islam has always been an integral part of his life and he spent several years at Safar Academy training in the art of Qur'anic recitation (Tajweed). His music focuses upon spiritual reflection and political issues, providing an alternative to pop and rap.

Khaleel Muhammad

Best known for his innovative audio play 'The Adventures of Hakim' and providing the backing vocals to songs by Yusuf Islam and Zain Bhikha, Khaleel is far from just a nasheeds artist. He is also an accomplished designer, voice-over artist, writer, producer and workshop leader. Taking traditional sounds, themes and sentiments, Khaleel adds his own rich harmonies and contemporary style and blends them into well-crafted and memorable nasheeds. And all this using only voice and percussion!

Muslim Belal

Muslim Belal, born and raised in South London, was a former rapper and founder of underground rap outfit SMS. He converted to Islam in 2002, travelled and lived in Egypt to study the deen al-Islam. He is now known for his poetic skills - telling his story of converting from the streets to Islam.

Pearls of Islam

Pearls of Islam are female performers who use traditional instruments such as the dumbek and the djmebe, accompanied with either rap, poetry or nasheeds, to create a unique sound. They have appeared on the Islam channel, the BBC Asian network 'Faith Week', and featured in Platform magazine, Crescent Magazine and the Independent newspaper.

Sajid Ahmed Khan

Sajid Ahmed Khan is the foremost exponent of Qawwali in Britain and comes from an illustrious family of Qawwals who have carried this tradition forward for hundreds of years. Qawwali combines music and spiritual cultural humanism in a way that makes it accessible to all. This devotional art form is a combination of rhythmic handclaps accompanied by harmonium, tabla, dholak and sitar.

Eid in the Square welcomes all Londoners and is organised by the Muslim Council of Britain and the Mayor of London.

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