Ayub Salahuddin's music disarms xenophobia, calls for peace

LOS ANGELES, United States (Kurdistan24) - At the time when Xenophobia and calls for disunity, embodied through various attempts to isolate, in countries like US and UK are receiving more platform, Ayub Salahuddin reinforces his stance by delivering his message of peace and coexistence in a distinct way after perceiving how some individuals are deaf to logic.

Son of Salahuddin Bahaddin, the leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Union, Ayub Salahuddin released his first album, ‘One and Only’ on June 15, which also marks the tenth day of Ramadan.  

‘One and Only’, a 12-track album, is the product of a two-year incessant work by a team in Sweden, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, and Kurdistan.

“This album is very personal,” said Ayub Salahuddin, born as into a Kurdish refugee family in one of the camps on the Iranian-Iraqi borders in 1990 at a time when civilians were massively deployed in frontlines. 

He sang, composed, and wrote the melody of his album with the supervision of several producers.

His songs especially target those who suffer from Islamophobia. “I want to show the peaceful Islam that I understand and grew up with. Many critiques of Islam have misunderstood the religion. I want to correct these misunderstandings and help Muslims find more words to say to people who are questioning them and their faith,” he said when asked about his main message.

Ayub studied in the UK and his personal quest for answers pushed him in this direction.

Although his songs are principally in English, he provided his diverse audience with different versions in languages like Turkish, Arabic, and Malaysian. “But my message is more efficiently transmitted through English since Muslims in the Middle East and Asia are not suffering from Islamophobia even though they admire this kind of art,” Ayub added.

Ayub believes that it is currently “risky” to enter different fields especially since he newly launched his career in music.

He says he declined numerous offers to speak on Islamophobia in conferences because he desires to solely focus on music for at least two years. He didn’t preclude the chances of acting or working on other projects afterwards. However, “I told most of the foundations that I am ready to help, particularly the refugees we host in Kurdistan. Westerners are coming to help them. So why not help as well? But I am trying to make sure to keep it light so that I can concentrate on my music for a while,” he stated.

“I am working on a non-profit concert with other famous Kurdish singers for Syrian refugees,” he said.

He currently plans to launch his album in Indonesia after Eid where the reactions to it were “unexpectedly pleasant.” Meanwhile, he plans to visit Germany, Ireland, Sweden, and possibly Turkey.

He released his first music video, “Unconditional Love”, on April 10, which achieved success. “Some of the album’s songs have already been shot and we will continue shooting after Eid,” he concluded.

Writing by Yara Kamaran

Editing by Ava Homa