Renowned Nasheed Singer To Perform At Muslimfest

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Mississauga: Junaid Jamshed is all set to perform at this year’s Annual Muslimfest at Mississauga’s Celebration Square. Born in Karachi, Jamshed originally dreamt of becoming a fighter pilot, but graduated with a degree in engineering instead and decided to pursue a career in aeronautical engineering.

While he was completing his undergraduate education, he was recruited by successful record producer Rohail Hyatt as the lead vocalist for the musical group Vital Signs. The group’s first single—a patriotic number by the name ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’—was released in 1987 and easily became a megahit. The vocals Jamshed lent to the song propelled Jamshed to the status of national star. He eventually decided to further pursue his interest in music (which he had initially considered a mere hobby—second fiddle to his official profession) and enjoyed many years of success as a member of Vital Signs and later as a solo artist.

More than a decade and a half after the debut of Vital Signs, Jamshed experienced what could be termed as a spiritual reawakening. He decided to spurn his pop music career and pledge his life to his faith—Islam. He is now a religious preacher, humanitarian and nasheed artist. (Nasheeds are Islamic songs that rely solely on vocals with no background musical instruments.) Jamshed has released six nasheed albums to date and has travelled the world to partake in charity work and motivational speaking. It will not be Jamshed’s first visit to Muslimfest. He graced the event’s main stage in 2011 as a part of its Sound of Islam concert. This year’s event will take place on September 1-2. The event is the creation of DawaNet, Young Muslims Canada, and Sound Vision and is organized by Festive Currents. It celebrates Muslim art, culture and entertainment in all forms and strives to offer Muslim youth the opportunity to become involved in their community and showcase their talent.

Submitted by Asilah Khan

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