Yusuf is being awarded the prestigious award as a result of the work he has done to increase peace in the world.

The Mediterranean Prize has sections for Peace, Culture, Art, Diplomacy, Institutions, Social Promotion, Information, Literature, Cinema, Creativity and Architecture. The prize is assigned each year to personalities of political, cultural, and artistic worlds that contributed with their actions to reduce tensions and begin an upgrading process of cultural differences and shared values in the area of the Greater Mediterranean. 

Yusuf recently made a return to the music scene with his first contemporary album for almost 30 years. AN OTHER CUP was critically acclaimed across the world. The Los Angeles Times described AN OTHER CUP as ‘vintage Stevens’ with The Sunday Times in the UK calling it 'an album that stands in comparison with his 1970s peak.'

AN OTHER CUP arrives in stores this week amidst a flurry of critical acclaim. Writing in The New York Daily News, Jim Farber lauds the album’s 'gorgeous melodies, shimmering arrangements and thoughtful vocals,' going on to conclude, 'How great to hear this sound coming back so profoundly after such a long pause.' The Los Angeles Times’ Ann Powers calls AN OTHER CUP an 'exquisitely orchestrated' album that brings back 'that vigorous, ruddy-cheeked sound,' while pondering, 'Can (Yusuf) recapture the welcoming seeker’s voice he plied so well in nonsectarian hymns such as ‘Morning Has Broken’?  The answer gently conveyed here is yes… Such vulnerability brings people together, whatever they believe.'
 
'The music picks up where Cat Stevens (born Steven Georgiou) left off,' says Jon Pareles in the New York Times. '(Yusuf’s) voice is a mellowed but recognizable version of his temperate baritone. The instruments, in tracks featuring his 1970s sidemen, are largely acoustic, and unlike most 21st-century pop productions, the music has natural dynamics, growing genuinely softer and louder. Many of the songs have the rhythmic springiness - in his vocal phrases or the lilt of the band - that was the secret of hits like ‘Wild World.’ Elsewhere, Billboard hailed the album as 'uplifting enough to satisfy even a 30-year thirst,' while in Yusuf’s native England, the Guardian’s Mat Snow praised the album as 'forty-four minutes of welcome surprise.'

AN OTHER CUP - the release of which coincides with the 40th anniversary of Cat Stevens’s first hit record, 'I Love My Dog' - sees Yusuf joined in the studio by his longtime collaborator, guitarist Alun Davies, as well as such renowned guests as bassist Danny Thompson and the legendary Senegalese singer, Youssou N’Dour.  Recorded in London, Los Angeles, Istanbul, and Johannesburg, the album was produced by Yusuf and Rick Nowels (known for his work with a diversity of artists, including Madonna, Nelly Furtado, Dido, and Santana). All the songs were penned by Yusuf, with the exception of a cover of the Nina Simone/Animals classic, 'Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.'

'I feel right about making music and singing about life in this fragile world again,' Yusuf says of his return to the pop music world. 'It is important for me to be able to help bridge the cultural gaps others are sometimes frightened to cross.'

Album stream:
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/stevens_cat/artist.jhtml 

Stevens reemerged in 1970, and the following year he made his U.S. chart debut with the acclaimed TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN. Over the next seven years, he had seven top ten albums, including such classics as TEASER AND THE FIRECAT, CATCH BULL AT FOUR, and BUDDAH AND THE CHOCOLATE BOX. Having reinvented his music, he wrote and performed such personal and reflective songs as 'Wild World', 'Father And Son', 'Peace Train', 'Moonshadow', 'Morning Has Broken', 'Oh Very Young,' and many others. His music was also featured in the 1971 cult film classic, 'Harold And Maude'. A global superstar, Stevens became one of the most important figures in the folk-rock movement of the decade.
 
In the midst of his multi-platinum career, Stevens nearly drowned in the Pacific Ocean off Malibu, and experienced a spiritual turning point. Shortly thereafter, his brother gave him a copy of the Qur'an, and he was inspired to remake his life. Converting to Islam, in 1978 he left the music world entirely, changed his name, and devoted his life to charitable and educational work. 

Yusuf founded three Muslim schools in London, and his pioneering work resulted in a landmark decision by the British government to certify and support Islamic education throughout the country. His U.N. registered charity, Small Kindness, provides humanitarian relief to orphans and families in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and other regions. He is also one of the few individuals to finance women to attend university in Baghdad.
 
Yusuf has received a series of awards for his life’s work, including the 2004 'Man for Peace', given by a committee of Nobel peace laureates. Most recently, he has been invited to join the Dalai Lama and a dozen Nobel peace laureates at the upcoming PeaceJam 10th Anniversary Youth Conference taking place in Denver in September. The goal of this historic event, which will be attended by 3,000 teenagers from 31 countries, is to inspire a new generation of peacemakers to transform their local communities, themselves, and the world.   
The enduring music of Cat Stevens is actively sought out today, and his albums sell over 1.5 million copies a year. Just last year, he was the winner of ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year Awards - for composing 'First Cut is the Deepest', which has been covered by numerous artists, including Rod Stewart and, most recently, Sheryl Crow - whose version became a major radio hit in 2004.

Of his return to the pop music world, Yusuf says, 'I feel right about making music and singing about life in this fragile world again.  It is important for me to be able to help bridge the cultural gaps others are sometimes frightened to cross.'

For more information, please visit www.yusufislam.org.uk.