Yusuf Islam visits Syrian refugees in Turkey’s southeast

GAZİANTEP

British musician Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, visited Syrian refugees living in the Şahinbey district of the southeastern province of Gaziantep on April 23. 

Islam was accompanied by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s daughter, Sefure Davutoğlu, in his visit to the Güneykent Youth Center, where the Syrian refugees are receiving education. 

The singer, who converted to Islam in the late 1970s, sang his 1971 hit song “Peace Train” with the Syrian teenagers, while a choir formed by orphan Syrian children performed for the guests and read the Quran. 

Davutoğlu and Islam talked to the orphaned Syrian children during their visit, which was hosted by Şahinbey Mayor Mehmet Tahmazoğlu.

Turkey currently hosts around 3 million refugees, 2.7 million of whom are Syrians, who fled the five-year-old war in their country.