Raihan are THE superstar Nasheed group who stormed onto the scene back in 1997 with their hit album 'Puji Pujian' (Praises) that broke the Malaysian record for the fastest selling album in a month. Literally overnight they redefined the nasheed genre.

Since then, Raihan, meaning 'fragrance of Heaven' - now comprised of Che Am, Bakar, Nazrey and Amran - have travelled much of the globe performing their unique blend of praise and harmonies. Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Raihan have starred in their own feature film called 'Syukur 21', won countless awards; performed at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and dueted with Yusuf Islam on the splendid track 'God Is The Light'.

Their motto 'Pray Hard Work Smart' typifies their approach to their creative craft which has won them fans and admirers from all over the world.

Shahaab, Zafar, Saad, Omar and Saeed all hail from Detroit, USA. 786 have had tremendous success in North America and Europe with their slick harmonies and R&B inspired melodies. Nasheeds like 'Heaven's Keys' are deceptively profound while others like 'Palestine' tap into the sentiments of Muslims around the world.

They are guys who are comfortable with their Muslim and western identities and utilise both cultural influences in their songs. The contemporary sounds they generate are directly informed by a rich, spiritual Islamic heritage and influences from different parts of the world as well as different communities they have grown up with. The fusion makes for some distinctive nasheeds. Rap, Gospel, R&B, Qawwali, Soul are all absorbed into nasheeds evoking positive messages. And yet it is only when you see them live that you truly begin to appreciate their art. Comfortable singing in English, Arabic and Urdu, these guys convey a passion and an intensity that has to be experienced to be believed - ask anyone who witnessed last year’s shows or their performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

786 will be featuring material from their new album ‘Straight Path’.

‘Allah Made Me Funny’ features two of America’s best known Muslim comedians including Preacher Moss, the tour’s producer and a former writer for George Lopez, Saturday Night Live’s Darrel Hammond and Damon Wayans. Moss shares the comedy stage with nationally recognised stand-up comedian Azhar Usman (nicknamed the Ayatollah of Comedy) who is an attorney turned comedian. This is the first official visit to the UK of AMMF.

"Allah Made Me Funny is funny, inspirational, and important as practicing Muslims as well as non-Muslims come to support it. My cheeks hurt and I laughed out loud! If we’re to be entertained as a community anyway, why not by Muslims?"
- Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Imam of Masjid Al-Taqwa, Brooklyn, NY

"Preach is not just a comedian for the Muslim community, but a teacher for the world."
- George Lopez, The George Lopez Show, ABC

"How often does it happen you can have a comedy performance where the audience comes out feeling like better people?"
- Darrell Hammond, Saturday Night Live, NBC

They are the latest nasheed sensation from the UK even though they’ve been around for a number of years! Aa'shiq-al-Rasul – meaning ‘Lovers of the Prophet’ (SAW) – formed as a nasheed group in the summer of 1998. The core members of Amran Ellahi, Sheraz Yaqub, Kamran Ellahi and Tahir Khan hail from Birmingham, England and are classically trained singers who perform an impressive repertoire of traditional nasheeds in Arabic, Urdu and English. Since signing up with Meem Music in 2004 they have undergone a complete transformation in terms of their sound and have added Usman Malik as the fifth member of the group.

Their new album ‘The Sultan of Madinah’ released prior to Ramadan has been wowing fans and critics alike. It adds a new flavour to the nasheed scene and tracks from it have even been used by the BBC in a recent documentary. The group’s tour of the USA and Canada in September introduced them to a brand new audience and proved an exceptional hit with their live shows.

They call him the soul brother of the nasheed world because of his silky smooth vocals and passionate delivery. Khaleel worked as a backing singer with some of the best nasheed artists before finally agreeing to release his own solo album entitled ‘Heaven’ back in 2003.

Since then he has proved extremely popular and has toured the USA, Sweden, France and Germany. For his new album ‘Dhikr of Life’ Khaleel decided to enlist the skill and expertise of Abu Bakar of the nasheed super-group Raihan – whom he’d met while they were on tour together in France – as producer and went to Malaysia to record both the album and music videos. The result is an album that blends the sweet harmonies and percussion of South East Asia with the western musical influences Khaleel grew up with. It is truly the first of its kind.