Wembley Stadium to stage Muslim 'Live 8' concert

A Muslim version of Live 8 is to be staged to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, it was announced today.

British-based Muslims are hoping for a sell-out at London's Wembley Stadium on October 21.

They also said it was "shameful" that Muslims do not get as concerned about the bloodshed in Sudan, branded as "genocide" by US President George Bush, as they do about other conflicts such as Iraq.

Jehangir Malik, the UK national fundraising manager of Islamic Relief, said: "We are going for our own equivalent of Live 8. 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. We should hopefully see a sell-out and it will be a milestone."

The gig will be headlined by singer Sami Yusuf and while targeting Muslims, it is hoped that members of different communities will attend.

There will also be an information blitz throughout Ramadan calling for people to "rise to the challenge of helping Darfur" with special messages sent to mosques and imams for Friday sermons.

Fareena Alam, the editor of the Muslim magazine Q News, was part of a Foreign Office-backed Muslim delegation which travelled to Darfur to talk to victims of the violence, refugees, tribal leaders and government officials.

She told a Foreign Office press conference: "It is very shameful that we can get very, very hot and bothered about other issues.

"There is a lot of information about Darfur. There is no doubt this is Muslim-on-Muslim violence. In Iraq the enemy is externalised.

"In this situation where are the values that we talk about, that killing one life is about killing humanity? This has to be high profile. It is a huge embarrassment to us."

Mr Malik 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."

The delegation called for investment to boost security, the number of wells and skills projects to help devastated communities.

With the exception of Malaysia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Muslim countries have been slow in comparison to the West, including Britain and the US, in financially helping Darfur, they said.

Saifuddin Ahmed, a spokesman for Muslim Aid, said: "I feel that the Muslim community (worldwide) must match the level of response that our Government has done."

He said it is "quite shameful" that Muslim nations' funding has been limited in comparison with other countries.

But Muslims, both at home and abroad, have dug deep to back charity appeals for the Bangladesh and Pakistan flood victims, and resources are stretched, the delegation noted.

"Natural disasters are much easier to raise money for than man-made disasters," Mr Malik said.

Sheikh Ibrahim Moghra, chairman of the interfaith committee of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "We have come away very encouraged from what we have seen from the Sudanese government signing the peace agreement.

"We are encouraged by their welcoming of the UN resolution and the hybrid forces coming to help the situation.

"This is something the refugees were saying that they need for a secure environment to allow them to go to their homes.

"The Muslim community in Britain has done their bit and we hope they will continue. We hope they will continue to say prayers for Darfur and we hope they will encourage more financial assistance.

"We feel there is a peaceful future for the people of Darfur and Sudan."

More than two million people, nearly one in three of Darfur's population have been forced to flee for their lives into camps, according to the Disasters Emergency Committee which represents UK aid agencies.

About 107,000 civilians were displaced due to insecurity and fighting between January 1 and April 1 this year.

Four million people in Darfur, which is two-thirds of the population, are dependent on humanitarian aid for their survival.

The July 2005 Live 8 concert was part of a worldwide day of action to highlight the problem of global poverty.

Copyright Press Association 2007