[npc] YI a terrorist?

["Dennis Moore" <clayboy56>]

...or, all an elaborate scheme for an attack on Madison Square Garden
or something?

Yes, I did start the thread. Those of you who listened to KRCW might
understand why it became ironic to me and, especially if you stayed to
hear the panel discussion about the Time "person of the year," was
indeed somewhat quite spooky that my post elicited the responses it
did. In that, I was/became acutely aware at my being "uniformed" (as I
certainly had not posted the notice prepared to defend [or not] the
artist formally known as Cat).

Posts by others made me even more aware about how under-informed I
was, but then I subsequently had simply trying to make the point about
opinion being founded on information [I did say he seemed dismissive],
only then, as the thread developed, to feel my ignorance more, which
led me to find out I was even more ignorant than I had believed....

(an aside: Like Patti has never said anything for "shock value" (the
term I chose to use), let alone something that she wish he had never
said, regardless if it ever got out in the press, etc......I would
hate to be judged solely on something I said 17 DAYS ago, let alone 17
YEARS ago. )

neway, here are a few things I gleaned from my investigation to help
form "my opinion" (which includes that I could imagine Patti, at the
very least, just wanted to "access" for herself):

Cat Stevens Returns, Explains Himself
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,237698,00.html

[snip] But you know, it wasn't until after the mesmerizing, emotional
show that I got to ask Yusuf a tough question: Does he regret
denouncing author Salman Rushdie and appearing to endorse the fatwa,
or death sentence, leveled at him by Ayatollah Khomeini?

"I never said it," he replied, smiling. He used his two index fingers
to show polar opposites. "We were just poles apart," he said of
Rushdie. "We disagreed. But I never said such a thing."

Nevertheless, Yusuf  who by then had been out of the spotlight for
many years and had become a dark, mysterious distant figure  gained
the hatred of American radio stations. There were mass bonfires of his
albums staged by extremists. It was a bad time. [snip]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens:

[snip] He adopted the name Yusuf Islam in 1979, and became a pious
advocate for the religion, devoting himself to educational and
philanthropic causes in his community. A decade later, controversy
arose when he was reported to have made comments that seemed to
support a fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie, but he
claimed to have been misinterpreted. He publicly and vehemently
condemned the September 11 attacks, saying they were not consonant
with the teachings of the religion of Islam, and mourned the loss of
life. In 2004, he returned to the public eye when he was denied entry
into the United States after his name appeared on a no-fly list.[2] He
successfully sued British newspapers for libel because of their
reports on this incident.[3]

Yusuf Islam currently lives with his wife and five children in London,
where he is an active member of the Muslim community, and spends part
of each year in Dubai. He founded, and is chairman of, the Small
Kindness charity, which initially assisted famine victims in Africa
and now supports thousands of orphans and families in the Balkans,
Indonesia, and Iraq.[4] Islam also founded the charity Muslim Aid, in
2004 he was given the Man for Peace award for promoting international
social justice and peace.

 [snip]


Cat Stevens Gives Support To Call for Death of Rushdie
May 23, 1989

http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-cat.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[snip] LONDON, May 22 -- The musician known as Cat Stevens said in a
British television program to be broadcast next week that rather than
go to a demonstration to burn an effigy of the author Salman Rushdie,
''I would have hoped that it'd be the real thing.''

The singer, who adopted the name Yusuf Islam when he converted to
Islam, made the remark during a panel discussion of British reactions
to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's call for Mr. Rushdie to be killed for
allegedly blaspheming Islam in his best-selling novel ''The Satanic
Verses.'' He also said that if Mr. Rushdie turned up at his doorstep
looking for help, ''I might ring somebody who might do more damage to
him than he would like.''

''I'd try to phone the Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him exactly where
this man is,'' said Mr. Islam, who watched a preview of the program
today and said in an interview that he stood by his comments. [snip]


September 23, 2004 interesting article about incident with Homeland security:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/23/stevens.back.britain/

[snip] Other officials said he was on the watch list because of
reported associations and financial support for Muslim charities with
terrorist connections. But they would not disclose the names of those
charities, and Homeland Security spokesman Garrison Courtney told CNN
only that "the intelligence community has come into possession of
additional information that further heightens our concerns of Yusuf
Islam....

Ridge said the intelligence that put the singer's name on the list
came from outside the United States, but he would not reveal the
source....

"The system is not perfect here." Ridge called the singer "one of my
favorite artists," and said his agency would take "a very, very close
look" at the information that resulted in Islam being placed on the
list.

But another U.S. official said the Department of Homeland Security is
"extremely confident in the information," and said it was credible
"without a doubt."

According to Islam's Web site, he is associated with three charities:
Small Kindness for humanitarian relief; Islamia Schools' Trust for
education; and Waqf al Birr Educational Trust for educational research
and development and scientific and medical research. [snip]


Lastly, "Did Cat Stevens Say, 'Kill Rushdie!' ?" on his website FAQs:

http://www.mountainoflight.co.uk/talks_cw.html#18

[snip] I never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the
Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini - and still don't. The book
itself destroyed the harmony between peoples and created an
unnecessary international crisis.

When asked about my opinion regarding blasphemy, I could not tell a
lie and confirmed that - like both the Torah and the Gospel - the
Qur'an considers it, without repentance, as a capital offense. The
Bible is full of similar harsh laws if you're looking for them.[13]
However, the application of such Biblical and Qur'anic injunctions is
not to be outside of due process of law, in a place or land where such
law is accepted and applied by the society as a whole.

The accusation that I supported the Fatwa, therefore, is wholly false
and misleading. It was due to my naivety in trying to answer a loaded
question posed by a journalist, after a harmless biographical lecture
I gave to students in Kingston University in 1989, which unleashed the
infamous headline above.

To indicate my actual stance about this matter before this front-page
controversy erupted, it's useful to quote a letter of complaint I sent
to Viking, a subsidiary of Penguin Books, the publishers, on 8th
October, 1989. This was after I had been sent a preview of the text of
Satanic Verses:

  "I wish to express my deepest outrage at the insensitivity of
Penguin Books in Publishing Salman Rushdie's book, 'Satanic Verses',
This book is clearly blasphemous in nature and so deeply offensive to
the Muslim Community I urge you to give the contents of this letter
your most urgent attention and take a responsible decision." [snip]

............
So, despite all said here, now and after hearing him speak and
perform, I am prepared to give Yusuf the benefit of the
doubt....however, in any case, I did enjoy hearing him again. Yes -
when he started singing it was like hearing from an old friend.