I usually don’t make political comments in my blog, but when Yusef Islam (formerly know as Cat Stevens) was blocked this week from entering the US because he was a danger to the US, I had to draw a line. The man who sung “Peace Train” was accused of having terrorist ties. Since his album, Tea for the Tillerman was the first album I ever owned, I have followed him over the years. From what I have read, he continues to be a peace activist and has consistently denounced terrorists acts over the past few years. It seemed that we are taking things to an absurd level to “protect America” by pulling Cat Stevens off a plane just because his last name is Islam.
9-26-04 Addition: Time Magazine reports that Cat Stevens was not let into the country as a result of a spelling error.
They pulled him because they suspect he gave money to the blind sheik (the man behind the first WTC bombing) and Hamas.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0904/174974.html
He also supported Khomeini’s order to assassinate Salman Rushdie.
See here
http://www.fact-index.com/c/ca/cat_stevens.html
Hi Barry,
Yes, on the surface, this sounds odd, doesn’t it? But please give our dept of homeland security a little benefit of the doubt. It’s entirely possible that Mr. Cat is involved in things that we don’t know about and homeland security DOES know about.
If we as citizens continually second guess the people who are trying to secure our borders, can you imagine how much more difficult an already impossible task will become?
Just because someone was famous once for singing peace songs, doesn’t automatically make him benign.
Cheers!
Dan
Well looks like new reports are coming out that it was a spelling error that took him off the plane!
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1541&u=/afp/20040925/en_afp/us_attacks_air_britain_040925223243&printer=1
OK, they shouldn’t have kicked him out. And, by the way, he spoke at a Hamas charity fundraiser in Toronto in the late 1990’s.
I saw our boy interviewed on 20-20 last night. He looks great and has a very sweet personality. In fact, he’s so sensitive that when the reporter asked him how he would feel if he was never allowed back into the USA again, he started crying. (OK, he had to hold back the tears).
Not only that, he denounced the murders in Beslan and the overdub by the announcer said that he denounced the 911 bombers. But, suprisingly, he refused to denounce the suicide bombing in Israel. Why is it OK to kill civilian Israelis? Is the Palestinian situation worse than that of the Chechens?
Cat had a cop out answer – not for this topic in particular but in general. “I’m only a singer”, he said. Meaning why ask him about these complex affairs when he has no expertise.
Of course, his limited area of expertise doesn’t stop him from being a spokesman for a religion which like all religions is based on lots of things that no one can possibly know. But, c’est la fifi. Don’t ask a singer to be consistent.
One other thing. As charming as Cat Stevens seems to be, he also seems a little goofy in that he says he didn’t dare to pick up a guitar for fear he would not be able to put it down. It makes him sound like an alcoholic? Is his religion a refuge from addiction? I never heard so. Although he said he did have to leave the music business because of the bad environment. I know he mentioned drugs. Perhaps alcohol and sex as well.
As I said, I saw him speak here in Toronto in the 1980s. I’m pretty sure that he said then that he turned away from music on the advice of his teacher. And I have heard that certain religious consider it improper.