“I believe that there is no contradiction between Islam and modernity,” said freshly famous R&B singer Maher Zain.

One can be a good Muslim and still dress well and be cool,” the 30-year-old man, who seemingly never leaves home without his dandy flat cap, distressed jeans and a smile framed by two-day stubble, commented on his personal style, which has been garnering attention.

However, it is not only his fashion choices that turns the heads of many young Muslims in Arabic and non-Arabic countries. His latest songs from the album Thank You Allah has fans pricking up their ears for seamlessly blending his smooth R&B voice and beats with the melancholic sounds of the Middle East flute, the ney, and stringed instruments, the oud and ba lama.

In many ways, the sounds and lyrics in the album, which he describes as “modern pop, R&B, Middle Eastern, with an up-beat, positive message”, mirror the life of the Lebanese-born singer, songwriter and music producer.

“I think my Middle Eastern background and growing up in Sweden greatly helped me,” he told The
Jakarta Post.

At the age of eight, Zain and his family moved to Sweden, where he grew up to meet and work with Moroccan-born songwriter Nadir Khayat, nicknamed RedOne, who has co-produced hit singles for Billboard toppers such as Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull.

To further his career in the music industry, Zain then moved to New York with RedOne in 2006.

“I learned a lot while working with music producer RedOne, especially about making nice and catchy melodies in a Western style,” he said.

Growing up in both the West and the Mid East influenced him not only musically but also on a personal level.

“I think one major thing you learn when you have the chance to experience different lifestyles in different places is to accept and respect differences, like the ones related to cultures and faiths,” he said.

The singer, who has toured several countries including Indonesia, added that he was “still learning this with every trip I take”.

It was a spiritual awakening at the age of 26 that led Zain to create the album after he had gone through “some confusion with my life” for having “many questions unanswered”.

“I started realizing the beauty of Islam after meeting some new Muslim friends who told me more about the way in which they lived their lives and I found answers for all my questions,” he said in an email to the Post.

“They really changed my entire life!”

This awakening also gave him a sense of identity because he had felt insecure because he did not have a good grasp of his faith, he admitted.

“Now, I believe that in order to feel secure and be proud of who you are and what you believe in, you need to be secure in your identity and faith, while at the same time respecting everyone else,” he
commented.

“When you do that, people will automatically respect you,” commented Zain, who took his cap off to his recording company, Awakening Records, for the success of the album.

“Having many good lyricists and musicians contribute to the album was definitely one of the most important reasons behind this success as well,” he said.

He added that the process of making the songs in the album started “with either a melody or some lyrics”.

A beat was then created, the lyrics and musical instruments recorded before the arrangement was finalized, the song mixed and a master made.

Through this album, Zain wanted to “reach out to young people and share my experiences with them because I know how hard it is to be young and confused in today’s world.”

Certain people have pointed out that Zain is the face of today’s Muslim youth. He deftly used social media to promote his music, setting a record of being the first Muslim singer to have more than a million fans on Facebook and millions of views for his music videos on YouTube.

“We’ve managed to reach out to different people around the world, but I’m sure there is still a lot more to be done,” the singer, who held a concert in Indonesia, said.

Zain visited Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya on a four-day tour, which began on Oct. 6. Indonesian singer Fadly “Padi” performed at the concert as well because he recorded the Indonesian version of “Insha Allah” with Zain on the album.

Besides being released in Bahasa Indonesia, the song has also been sung in English, French, Arabic, Turkish and Malay. Zain received double platinum awards for the album from Sony Music Indonesia in 2011, in addition to the eight platinum awards from Warner Music Malaysia in 2010.

“My Tour in Indonesia was definitely one of my best concert experiences so far; the crowd was just amazing; they sang along with all the songs even though they were in different languages,” Zain noted.

“I had a really great time!” he commented.

Besides Indonesia, Zain has staged concerts in the Middle East, Europe and North America.

As for the future, Zain plans to release a second album, which he tipped “will be released in a couple of months”.

He added that he was “open for all good collaborations” with different singers and musicians.

And when asked if another album would mean a new round of tours, he answered, “Of course, I also plan to have more concerts all around the world, including Indonesia.”

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