Islamic Relief -The Next Generation
Islamic Relief celebrated their 25th anniversary earlier this month with three charity concerts held across South Africa. The Next Generation Concerts held in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town were primarily to raise funds for IR’s Orphan Program. We went around the country performing with very talented local groups (Waahid, Desert Rose, Nujumal Layl) and incredibly funny comedians (Joey Rasdien, Riaad Moosa, Halal Bilal).

It was also the official release of our new CD, 1415 The Beginning. So needless to say we were a bit nervous but Alhamdulillah the tour was very successful! We had aunts, cousins and neighbours best friends hounding us for tickets for the Johannesburg concert which was sold out. Even though IR had to turn people away more than half a million Rands were raised in pledges alone at the event in Jo-burg.
We at Zain Bhikha Studios had the pleasure of holding the ACE Workshops for some of the children being supported by Islamic Relief. At each concert the orphans performed “My Mums is Amazing” and “Peace Train” a track from our new album. It was a tremendous honour working with these kids who are bright, funny and full of life.

To read reviews of 1415 The Beginning and the event in Cape Town click here:

1415- The Beginning

IR- The Next Generation Cape Town

ACE Workshops

FREEDOM WILL COME
ZAIN BHIKHA Featuring ZIRYAB / KHALIL ISMAIL / MELLOW MARK / ABDUL MALIK AHMAD / UMAR ABDULLAH
In light of the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people, the single ‘Freedom will Come’ is a collaboration between world renowned artists all voicing their message of peace. This single will be available as a free download on the 22nd of May 2009 at www.freedomwillcome.com
There is lots of information about the song, a superb video and links to help contribute to alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.

1415 The Beginning
“1415 The Beginning” pays true homage to when Zain Bhikha began recording in 1994/1415 AH. 2009 marks fifteen years since he officially released his first independent debut album “A Way of Life”. The release of 1415 pays tribute to his beginnings with 12 emotionally driven tracks including ‘Mum and Dad’, ‘I Remember your Smile’ and the ‘Prophets Faithful Friend’. The album also features a fresh new approach to classic songs such as ‘Fortunate is He’. This album is a true tribute to the work of Zain Bhikha in its simplicity and profound messages; it’s a must for all those seeking peace in the remembrance of God. The album will be officially released worldwide in July 2009.

ZAIN BHIKHA US TOUR
Zain Bhikha in conjunction with Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) www.ICNA.org and Helping Hand USA www.helpinghandonline.org will be touring the United States from the 22nd of May to the 14th of July. We will be visiting about 18 cities across the US for ACE Workshops as well as performances this is a great opportunity to meet and interact with the young people of the US as well as have the honour of performing live at so many venues. Please see the Performance Tab for the dates and venues. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Art of Creative Expression Redbridge College UK February 2009
I along with Dawud Wharnsby held ACE workshops at the Redbridge Council from the 16th to the 19th of February 2009. It was a wonderful and enlightening experience for us both and we learnt so much from the young adults who attended. The week was filled with creative exercises aimed at allowing the participants to think out of the box and be inspired to share their latent talents.

We hope to take the ACE workshops to many parts of the world if you are interested in bringing the workshops to your area please contact admin@zainbhika.com.

Enjoying Islam with Zain and Dawud
We started the momentous journey of shooting a children’s television program with Peace TV entitled “Enjoying Islam with Zain and Dawud”. With months of preparations behind us we shot 30 episodes in little over a week! Episodes ranged from basic aspects of Islam to various topics relevant to our young Muslims. The show is filled with humour and great songs and should be aired on Peace TV in the coming months. Special thanks to the wonderful kids who took part in the show with us, Jibrael Kayed, Rania Abdullah, Shams Beck, Tjani, Zain Omar and Maryam Daya.
Click here to see pictures from the TV show