Muslim rapper Brother Abdullah visited East Ham for a charity event that raised £74,000 for Syrian orphans.

Brother Abdullah, who is known for pro-Palestinian lyrics and standing against extremism – which he claims is a misrepresentation of his religion – performed three songs at Sacred Knowledge Trust Welfare’s “Lantern of Hope” fundraiser at Newham Town Hall on June 6.

National events manager Imran Ali, 31, said the rapper’s presence was a boost to the work his charity performs across the world.

“He’s done a lot of work with us and when people see him supporting us they see the great work we do,” he said. “People who follow Brother Abdullah on Facebook and YouTube know him and listen to his tracks and that means a lot of young people turn up.

“He’s in a unique position where he can use his songs and following and we can put him on our posters and people flock to events with us.”

He added that the reception the rapper received was strong and positive, with people rushing for autographs.

“He ran around and people got autographs,” he said. “People were taking pictures with him, it really had an effect.”

Also appearing at the event was singer Ahmed Hussain and public speaker Dr Asim Yusuf.

About 150 people attended the East Ham fundraiser, which followed two similar events in Birmingham and Manchester.

The final fundraiser brought the total donations of the three events to £415,000, which will support the charity’s own orphanage, Springs of Hope, in the Turkish border city of Reyhanli.

“Because of the war a lot of people are looking for shelter,” Imran explained. “They’re looking for safety – and we want to provide that safety.

“We went to Turkey in February to do a food deployment and we found the orphanages were stretched and the children were treated as numbers and separated from their mothers.

“So we bought the land and started building.”

The money raised will support 215 orphans and 75 widows.