The Album

Film soundtrack produced in partnership with 1001 Inventions to ‘shine’ light on harmony and cohesion

London, 20 December 2015: Sami Yusuf, the internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and composer, and award-winning producer Ahmed Salim announced today the release of the original motion picture soundtrack for the short film ‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham’.

The music album composed by Sami Yusuf and released by Andante Studios features the song ‘Shine’ and ends with a special tribute track to the late actor Omar Sharif who delivers his final lead performance in the short film.

A music video for ‘Shine’ was also released based on footage from the short film.

The album supports a global Ibn al-Haytham awareness campaign launched by British organisation 1001 Inventions in partnership with UNESCO that is part of United Nations proclaimed ‘International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies’ (IYL2015).

Al Hasan Ibn al-Haytham was an 11th century polymath from Basra (in modern-day Iraq), who is often referred to as the ‘father of modern optics’. He spent much of his life in Egypt, including a decade under house arrest, which was where he wrote his most celebrated work, Kitab al-Manazir (The Book of Optics). He used what is now commonly referred to as a Camera Obscura to demonstrate and verify his ideas. He made significant advancements in optics, mathematics and astronomy, and helped lay the foundations of the scientific experimental method.

Sami Yusuf said:

“I am delighted to release my first music score for a film that has a fascinating and important inspirational story. Ibn al-Haytham was a man of knowledge who rose up to the challenges of his society and made positive contributions on our lives today. We benefit from his legacy today and I hope this album will help honour over one thousand years of intellectual tradition from Muslim Civilisation that promoted intercultural dialogue and mutual respect.”

Directed by Ahmed Salim, the partly animated film storyline is intertwined with a live-action backstory starring Omar Sharif, who guides in the quest of discovering Ibn al-Haytham’s journey to understand the principles of light and optical theories. The film that had its world premiere earlier this month at the Dubai International Film Festival stars Macey Chipping with voice over by Khalid Abdalla. The trailer can be watched on www.IbnAlhaytham.com.

Ahmed Salim, Producer and Director of 1001 Inventions said:

“I am delighted that Sami Yusuf has delivered such a major commitment to join the global efforts honouring the legacy of Ibn al-Haytham. Sami has created a masterpiece composition that is a beautiful, powerful, emotional, and meaningful. The album, film, children’s book and other 1001 Inventions productions aim to inspire, educate, and connect people on a global scale, engaging the hearts and minds, promoting harmony and social cohesion.”

National Geographic also partnered with 1001 Inventions to publish the children’s book ‘Ibn al-Haytham: The Man Who Discovered How We See’. Pre-orders of the book are available on Amazon.com.

The album that includes 10 tracks features the new song ‘Shine‘ performed by Sami Yusuf and a special version of the track ‘The Golden Ages’ featuring the voice of legendary late actor Omar Sharif.

The album can be downloaded on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/1001-inventions-world-ibn/id1069386095

iTubes

About Sami Yusuf

Sami Yusuf is a composer, arranger, producer and instrumentalist with over 34 million albums sold to date. His lyrics are a clear expression of his yearning for peace and harmony with rhythms inspired by global traditions, and melodies spun from all lived truths.

With the Guardian recognizing him as the biggest British star in the middle-east, and the United Nations appointing him as both the World’s Global Ambassador Against Hunger and the promoter of World peace and harmony, Sami Yusuf is by no means your typical British celebrity.

The transcendent message of traditional music, and the sense of the sacred sit at the core of his passions. Sami vehemently believes that all the world’s traditions are expressions of the same ultimate truth. Music for him is an expression of Divine love and the love of all the great traditions. These pure beliefs shine through in his singing, composition, and the arrangement and performance of vocals where he prefers the use of traditional instruments to more modern ones.

www.samiyusufofficial.com

About 1001 Inventions

1001 Inventions is an award-winning, British based organisation that creates international educational campaigns and engaging transmedia productions aiming to raise awareness of the contributions to science, technology and culture from the Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation.

Over the last five years, 1001 Inventions has engaged with over 200 million people across the globe. The organisation works with a network of international partners, including UNESCO, and leading academics to produce interactive exhibits, short films, live shows, books and classroom learning materials that are being used by hundreds of thousands of educators around the world. 1001 Inventions is a founding partner of the United Nation’s proclaimed International Year of Light 2015.

www.1001inventions.com

About International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies

The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL 2015) is a global initiative adopted by the United Nations (A/RES/68/221) to raise awareness of how optical technologies promote sustainable development and provide solutions to worldwide challenges in energy, education, agriculture, communications and health. With UNESCO as lead agency, IYL 2015 programs promote improved public and political understanding of the central role of light in the modern world while also celebrating noteworthy anniversaries in 2015—from the first studies of optics 1,000 years ago to discoveries in optical communications that power the Internet today.

www.light2015.org



‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al Haytham’ Film Trailer

Trailer for the short film launching later this year: ‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham’ The creators of 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets bring you a new short film on the work of 11th century scientist Ibn Al-Haytham. “A journey of Science from Darkness into Light”. This trailer is for a short film by producer Ahmed Salim, starring legendary actor Omar Sharif, voice by Khalid Abdalla and music composed by Sami Yusuf. The film will be launched as part of the United Nations proclaimed International Year of Light 2015 and is produced by 1001 Inventions and the King Abdulaziz Center for World culture in partnership with UNESCO and the International Year of Light 2015.



UNESCO launch: ‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham’

‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham’ launched at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 19th January 2015. This clip includes short highlights from the launch event that was also the official launch of the United Nations proclaimed ‘International Year of Light 2015′.



UNESCO announces partnership with 1001 Inventions to celebrate 
Ibn Al-Haytham:

Director-General Irina Bokova announces UNESCO’s partnership with 1001 Inventions to launch a global campaign to celebrate the 10th century scientist Ibn Al-Haytham…

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In Partnership with 1001 Inventions the Library of Alexandria Celebrates the International Year of Light

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1001 Inventions launches at the China Science Festival

Beijing, 17th July, 2015: China’s largest science festival launched today with the new production “1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham” as an anchor exhibition. 11th century Arab scholar Ibn al-Haytham was also unveiled as the official mascot of the 2015 China Science Festival. The science festival this year is themed on “Light and Colour” and 1001 Inventions, the British based educational organisation, participates as a Founding Partner of the United Nations proclaimed International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (IYL2015).

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Omar Sharif’s final film on “1001 Inventions” dedicated to his legacy

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1001 Inventions To Partner With China’s Biggest Science Festival: China Science Festival to host “1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham”

Beijing, 26th May 2015: The organizing committee of China’s biggest national Science Festival announced today that it will host  “1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham, as an anchor attraction of the 2015 China Science Festival, from 17 July to 2 August 2015 at the Beijing Exhibition Center.

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Bahrain celebrates:

‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham’

Zedni Ilman, Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Centre, 1 and 2 May 2015. Families in Bahrain are welcomed to join a fun weekend of theatre and science celebrating the 1,000 year anniversary of Ibn Al-Haytham’s work in science. Known to many as the ‘father of optics’, he helped revolutionise experimental science and our understanding of light and vision.

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Kuwait Celebrating ‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al Haytham’

Scientific Center, Kuwait, 27 and 28 February 2015. Families and children are welcomed to join a fun weekend event celebrating the 1,000 year anniversary of Ibn Al-Haytham’s work in science. Known to many as the “father of optics”, he helped revolutionise experimental science and our understanding of light and vision. This fun packed event features engaging workshops, experiments, live shows, competitions and a new short film starring legendary actor Omar Sharif. The event is part of a new global campaign ‘1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham’ that is produced by 1001 Inventions and King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in partnership with UNESCO and the International Year of Light 2015.

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www.ibnalhaytham.com