Maher Zain

Maher Zain is a popular Lebanese Swedish R&B singer, songwriter, and music producer well known for his Islamic message songs. He caused a worldwide sensation when he emerged with his debut album Thank You Allah in 2009 which went to quadruple platinum in Indonesia (4 million copies sold) and quintuple platinum in Malaysia (five million copies sold). Although Maher Zain is now well known for his signature hip but pious Islamic R&B songs, that was not the case earlier. He had a passion for music at a young age but did not pursue music until after he finished his aeronautical engineering degree in university. Initially, Maher Zain with Nadir Khayat (also known as RedOne) worked as music producers for artists such as Kat DeLuna and Lady Gaga in New York. Although it was an exciting time working with big-name artists, Maher Zain felt that something was not quite right. Thus, on a trip back to Sweden in 2009, he reconnected with his spiritual Muslim roots and felt at peace and contented. He signed up with Awakening Records in 2009 and set out to reinvent himself as a singer and a songwriter but also to identify himself as a trifecta of being a Muslim, an Arab, and a Westerner and to try and fuse these elements together into one. Thus, when he released his debut album Thank you Allah, it was an unmistakable pop style series of songs with an R&B influence and traditional Islamic songs (nasheed) with Western musical instruments and arrangements. His subsequent albums Forgive Me in 2012 and One in 2016 went quadruple platinum (4 million copies sold) and double platinum (2 million copies sold) respectively in Malaysia. His presence as a singer is very much felt in social media, such as on YouTube, where his videos have hundreds of millions of views. To connect with his fans around the world, Zain has released versions of his songs not only in English and Arabic, but also in other languages such as Indonesian, Malay, French, Urdu, and Turkish. Zain has also toured extensively around the world, extending his appeal. His songs have been analyzed by scholars for their messages and linguistic aspects. His popularity is said to have strongly influenced the political landscape of the Arab world especially during the Arab Spring uprising. Zain has also used his popularity to be actively involved in charity works, including as an active supporter for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and performing in more than one hundred charity concerts across thirty-five countries.