I think we can all agree, whether we think music is haram or not, that what Sami Yusuf says in his songs are great messages that everyone should hear. So I don't really see why some people (not saying its anyone here) make him out to be a bad person or a bad Muslim. It's not up to any human to question his faith. Haram or halal, I think he's a good man and he has good intentions. Whether you agree with him or not, I think he did a good job of responding to Yvonne Ridley without being harsh or attacking her.
I don't see what's wrong with loving ones country and I don't think she should have attacked him for that. Being proud to be British does not, in fact, mean you're proud of every single thing Great Britain has ever done.
Although Yusuf states that he did not witness such dancing himself doesn't mean much. I've been on stage before, and with the lights it really is impossible to see much farther back than a few rows. When you take into consideration the size of the stages Yusuf probably preforms on, with more lights and more people, it would probably be nearly impossible to just see the first row.
I haven't read Ridley's original article, so I can't really comment too much on it but from what I've heard it doesn't seem totally right of her to completely bash Yusuf. But again, until I read the article I can't really say.
What I can say is that I don't think it's totally right to place all the blame on Yusuf. He can't control the actions of others. Yes, he can try his best not to inspire people to do wrong things, but at the end of the day those girls who were dancing are responsible for their actions and can't blame it on anyone else but themselves.
This whole thing reminds me of one particular story. While I haven't been convinced 100% that music is haram, nor have I been convinced it's halal (as there are contradicting opinions and hadith on it, as it has been stated), I found this to be just absolutely ridiculous: A friend of mine attended a wedding with his sisters. The wedding and reception took place in a mosque and the men and women were separated the whole time. However, he told me that they were playing music during the reception and no one was dancing. I was amazed - even if the subject of music is iffy to some, certainly it does not belong in a mosque (especially since most think it's haram)! Then he told me something even more shocking. His sister had put on a Sami Yusuf CD and coaxed all the sisters there to start dancing. Apparently both the men and women, although segregated, were dancing to music. In a mosque! I think that's absolutely crazy even if music is halal like some argue, and I can't believe their Imam was ever OK with it.
If a man tells you that you like tacos (which you may or may not) and then later tells you that you can jump off a 500 foot cliff and live, then he was right at first and wrong later.
saying "The Halal is clear and the Haram is clear. Stay away from any unclear issues so as you will not fall into sin".
