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CNN: You mean you're not dangerous? Yusuf: No! Touch me! (laughs) It was upsetting for a lot more people than myself. And you know, I'm here now (in the United States), so things are kind of working themselves out. But there's a new administration, a new president, and it's a great new day. CNN: Obama seems to be reaching out to people of all faiths around the world. Yusuf: I think a person like Obama has some kind of faith in his special role that he has to perform. And that role -- if not prophetic -- it's a divine...

Singer-songwriter Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, released on Sunday a charity song whose proceeds will go towards assisting Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. The new recording of the song 'The day the world gets round', originally recorded by George Harrison, features Yusuf on vocals and Klaus Voorman, known to many as the fifth Beatle, on bass. The song can be dowloaded online at different rates and its proceeds will go towards the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and Save the Children to aid children and families in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA said in a statement. Yusuf...

Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, headlined Al Gore's Live Earth concert in Hamburg July 7. This is a man who advocated author Salman Rushdie's death. In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the execution of Rushdie. Yusuf, who converted to Islam in the 1970s, was asked about the fatwa during a UK TV program on April 15, 1989. Geoffrey Robinson: “You don't think that this man deserves to die?” Yusuf: “Who, Salman Rushdie?... Yes, Yes.” After all of the denials and obfuscations by Yusuf, the smoking gun is now available on YouTube where Yusuf can be seen and...

Muslim singer Yusuf Islam reportedly refused to speak with the female guides at a German event over the weekend (24-25Mar07) because they weren't veiled - despite accepting an honour for building bridges between Eastern and Western cultures. The star, formerly known as Cat Stevens, received a special prize at the Echo Awards on Sunday night (25Mar07) in Berlin for his musical, social and political work and was praised as a bridge-builder between the West and the Islamic world. However, when the Father And Son singer, 58, rehearsed his appearance the day before the prize giving (24Mar07), he acted rather narrow...

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OSLO, Norway, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Cat Stevens will make a rare appearance next month at a concert in Norway to be held in connection with the Nobel Peace Prize. Stevens, who was popular in the 1970s and now goes by the Muslim name Yusuf Islam, will appear at the Dec. 11 Nobel Peace Concert in Oslo. The singer, whose hits include "Moonshadow," who also wrote, "The First Cut is the Deepest." He made news recently when he somehow popped up on the U.S. no- fly list. Islam denied any connections to terrorist groups. CBS described the lineup for show...

Atlantic Records is eyeing a November release for Yusuf Islam's first album of pop music in 28 years in tandem with his own Ya imprint. As previously reported, "An Other Cup" will be issued internationally by Polydor in time to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the former Cat Stevens' first release, "I Love My Dog." Produced by Rick Nowells (Dido, Madonna), the set features contributions from former Cat Stevens guitarist Alun Davies and keyboardist Jean Roussel, plus African vocalist Youssou N'Dour. Islam played guitar, piano and keyboard. Although the track list has yet to be announced, "An Other Cup" is...

Country superstar Dolly Parton was thrilled when Yusuf Islam agreed to collaborate with her on her new covers album because she wanted to show fans he's a "really sweet man." Parton has been a longtime friend and fan of the folk icon, formerly Cat Stevens, and was horrified when she learned he had been refused entry to America last year. Islam was turned back when his name appeared on a mysterious list of potential terrorist sympathisers. He has been fighting the humiliating immigration mess ever since. And, by including him on her new album, Those Were The Days, patriotic Parton...

It had to happen eventually. Cat Stevens — now known as Yusuf Islam — has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My sources tell me he's a shoo-in, too. Stevens had several huge-selling popular records in the 1970s, until he became a Muslim and changed his name. Those hits were "Moon Shadow," "Peace Train," "Oh Very Young," a cover version of Sam Cooke's "Another Saturday Night," "Father and Son" and "Wild World." A decade or more ago, Stevens was roundly denounced for seeming to back the fatwa, or death sentence, placed by Iran's Ayatollah...

Yusuf Islam, previously British pop star Cat Stevens who embraced Islam 30 years ago, released a new record on Tueday, March 22, in aid of tsunami-orphaned children in the Indonesian province of Aceh. “The tsunami disaster has changed the world in an extraordinary way and it requires an extraordinary response from everyone,” said the 56-year-old Muslim activist, who sold 50 million records in the 1970s with hits such as Matthew and Son, Peace Train and Wild World, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The “Indian Ocean” will be available only as a download from yusufislam.org.uk. “I started writing it on holiday a...

WASHINGTON - The singer formerly known as Cat Stevens is still barred from entering the United States because of terror intelligence that identifies him as a security threat. "The intelligence is the same. The reasons we rejected him several months ago still exist in my mind," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday of Yusuf Islam, the "Peace Train" singer who largely gave up music after converting to Islam in the late 1970s. Yusuf Islam was removed from a London-to-Washington flight in September because of suspected links to terrorists — a claim he has strongly denied. In November, he was...

Funded-by-Americans, former Soviet Union Leader Mikhail Gorbachev thumbs his nose at American authority. On Wednesday, Gorbachev will award a prize, through the international foundation he founded and operates, to a man expelled from the United States only last September. The singer once known as Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam, was nabbed and expelled from the U.S. after authorities diverted his London-to-Washington flight to Maine to remove him, on suspicion of ties to terrorism. On Wednesday, Islam, who converted to Islam in the 1970s, will be handed the Man for Peace award in Rome, where he’ll be feted by Gorbachev and...

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev honored the singer once known as Cat Stevens with a peace prize on Wednesday, praising him for charity work and for standing by his convictions despite personal hardships. Yusuf Islam was awarded the "Man for Peace" prize in Rome at the opening of a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. He last made headlines in September, when he turned up on Washington's no-fly list for having suspected ties to terrorists -- a claim he has strongly denied. The "Peace Train" singer, who largely gave up music after converting to Islam in the late 1970s, mused...

ROME - Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev honored the singer once known as Cat Stevens with a peace prize on Wednesday, praising him for charity work and for standing by his convictions despite personal hardships. Yusuf Islam was awarded the "Man for Peace" award in Rome at the opening of a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. He last made headlines in September, when he turned up on Washington's no-fly list for having suspected ties to terrorists - a claim he has strongly denied. The "Peace Train" singer, who largely gave up music after converting to Islam in the late...

LONDON - Lawyers for the singer once known as Cat Stevens said Friday that they have asked American officials to remove his name from a "no fly" list. The musician, now a peace activist named Yusuf Islam, was expelled from the United States last week after authorities diverted his London-to-Washington flight to Maine to remove him, saying he was suspected of ties to terrorism. The Carter-Ruck law firm said it had asked the U.S. government to explain why it considered Islam a security risk. "I remain bewildered by the decision of the U.S. authorities to refuse me entry to the...

TORONTO - Yusuf Islam, the British singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was the guest of honour at a Toronto fundraising dinner hosted by an organization that has since been identified by the Canadian government as a "front" for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. In a videotape of the 1998 event obtained by the National Post, Mr. Islam describes Israel as a "so-called new society" created by a "so-called religion" and urges the audience to donate to the Jerusalem Fund for Human Services to "lessen the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Palestine and the Holy Land."

<p>TORONTO - Yusuf Islam, the British singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was the guest of honour at a Toronto fundraising dinner hosted by an organization that has since been identified by the Canadian government as a "front" for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.</p>

Most visitors to the US know that not even a valid visa can guaranty entry into the United States. Nor is America alone in this. Generally speaking, no foreign national can enter another country as a matter of right.  Louis Farrakahan found that holding an American passport did not entitle him to enter Britain in 2002. Nor is politics always a factor: bureaucrats can act in arbitrary ways. One of Laura Bush's favourite British authors has been refused entry to the US, a day before he was due to lecture to an audience of 2,500 people. Ian McEwan was stopped...

Security officials can't quite explain why singer Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, was on a U.S. government "no fly" list. Homeland Security officials diverted his D.C.-bound jet to Bangor, Maine. Security experts in England said that Islam years ago helped set up an Islamic charity which campaigned to bar non-Muslims from Jerusalem; he also allegedly provided funds to the militant Palestinian group Hamas. In 1994, according to German police records, the singer met a German Islamic militant who later was mentor to 9/11 hijackers. But recently Yusuf Islam broke with Muslim militants, condemning extremism and pledging proceeds from...

Saturday, Sep. 25, 2004 The Yusuf Islam incident earlier this week, in which the former Cat Stevens was denied entry into the U.S. when federal officials determined he was on the government's "no-fly" antiterror list, started with a simple spelling error. According to aviation sources with access to the list, there is no Yusuf Islam on the no-fly registry, though there is a "Youssouf Islam." The incorrect name was added to the register this summer, but because Islam's name is spelled "Yusuf" on his British passport, he was allowed to board a plane in London bound for the U.S. The...

LONDON - The musician once named Cat Stevens says he still doesn't know why his new name has been linked to terrorism. In a statement, Yusuf Islam says he's ``initiated a legal process'' to try to find out exactly why he was put on a no-fly list, and kicked off a flight from London to Washington's Dulles International. The singer says authorities in the U.S. have not made it clear why they suspect him of ties of terrorism. Yusuf says he's a ``man of peace'' who denounces all forms of terrorism. He also says he never would have believed this...

Whether one believes Yusuf Islam - who used to be a pop singer known as Cat Stevens - should be barred from passenger flights in the United States or not, his detainment in Bangor Tuesday raises some serious concerns about homeland security. Islam, who in the 1970s and 1980s had a string of hits on the American charts, gave up his singing career more than a decade ago and converted to Islam. That in itself didn't get him placed on a "do not fly" list for passengers entering the United States. What likely got him put on the list were...

US Secretary of State Colin Powell today defended a US decision to deny entry to British singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens. "We have no charges against him," Mr Powell told reporters at the foreign press centre. "We have nothing that would be actionable in our courts, or in the courts in the United Kingdom, I'm sure. "But it is the procedure that we have been using to know who is coming into our country, know their backgrounds and interests and see whether we believe it is appropriate for them to come in," he said. "With respect to...

Yusuf Islam, the British singer formerly known as Cat Stevens is taking legal action after he was refused entry into the United States. Mr. Islam said the decision to deny him entry on grounds of national security was 'wholly unfounded' and he wants an explanation.''We have now initiated a legal process to try and find out exactly what is going on, and to take all necessary steps to undo the injustice that I have suffered.' 'I am a man of peace and denounce all forms of terrorism and injustice.'Action was taken against the musician, who converted to Islam and changed...

BY JAMES TARANTOWednesday, September 22, 2004 3:55 p.m. Terror Advocate Stopped at AirportA man who goes by the name Yusuf Islam, though he was born Stephen Georgiou and for a time went by the alias Cat Stevens, was prevented from entering the U.S. yesterday, the Associated Press reports. When Islam's name turned up on a government "watch list," his London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Bangor, Maine, where he was interviewed and given the boot on "national security grounds," according to the Homeland Security Department. The AP adds: Officials had no details about why the peace activist might be considered...

Cat Stevens is considering taking legal action to overturn the ban on him entering the United States following claims that he funded terrorism. The former singer-songwriter, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam when he left the music industry behind and converted to Islam in the late 1970s, returned to Britain yesterday demanding an explanation for being deported by the US. Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, arrives at Heathrow Mr Islam was questioned by FBI agents after his name was spotted on a "watch list" compiled to combat terrorism. American authorities, who diverted his Washington-bound flight from Heathrow to Bangor...

LONDON - The singer formerly known as Cat Stevens returned to Britain Thursday, saying he was "totally shocked" that he was barred from entering the United States. The singer, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam more than 25 years ago, was met by a swarm of reporters as he came through the arrivals area at Heathrow airport. "I'm totally shocked," Islam said. "Half of me wants to smile, and half of me wants to growl. The whole thing is totally ridiculous." U.S. officials ordered Islam taken off a London-to-Washington flight on Tuesday, saying he was on a security watch...

(CNSNews.com) - An Islamic civil rights group says it will hold a noontime press conference in Washington on Wednesday to condemn the expulsion of Yusuf Islam -- the former Cat Stevens -- from the United States. Islam boarded a U.S.-bound flight in London on Tuesday, and the plane, headed for Washington's Dulles airport, was diverted to Bangor, Maine, after his name showed up on a U.S. watch list. A Department of Homeland Security official said Yusuf Islam was denied permission to enter the United States "on national security grounds." No one's giving a specific reason. CAIR describes Yusuf Islam as...

CNN.com is reporting that Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam has been removed from a flight tonight because his name has appeared on an FBI watch list. Yusuf is currently being detained in Maine until the situation can be resolved, and he is expected to return to England on Wednesday. According to the article Yusuf's name was spotted on the FBI watch list after his flight had already left, and was diverted before reaching its destination. Further, the article states "A government official said Islam was on the watch list because of "known associations and financial support to organizations believed to be aiding...

WASHINGTON - A plane bound for Washington from London was diverted to Maine on Tuesday after passenger Yusuf Islam — formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens (news) — showed up on a U.S. watch list, federal officials said. United Airlines Flight 919 had already taken off from London en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made between the passenger and the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration. The plane was met by federal agents at Maine's Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m., Melendez said. Federal officials, speaking on condition of...

Watch List Passenger ID'd as Cat Stevens Tuesday, September 21, 2004 BANGOR, Maine — A passenger who was matched to a federal watch list, forcing a jetliner to be diverted, has been identified as singer-cum-Muslim convert Cat Stevens (search), according to federal officials. The plane bound for Washington, D.C., from London landed in Bangor Tuesday, authorities said. United Airlines (search) flight 919 had already taken off from London en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made, according to Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.

City Journal Our Islamic Fifth Column Farrukh Dhondy Autumn 2001 My first name gives rise to confusion. It’s a common Muslim name, so people I meet, or who read my byline, assume that I am of the faith. Most recently, in response to a column I write for an Indian paper, in which I confessed to having met a few terrorists in my time and attempted to analyze their limited grasp of the world, I received a lot of hate mail. Some of the e-mailers clearly thought I was a Muslim apostate and reminded me that the penalty for that...

LONDON (AP) -- The ``Peace Train'' rides again. Former pop star Cat Stevens, a convert to Islam, has recorded his first song in 25 years to raise money for children affected by the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Stevens, who now uses the name Yusuf Islam, re-recorded his 1971 hit song ``Peace Train'' at studios in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is among tracks on ``Hope,'' an album produced for the War Child charity that helps children in war torn countries. Other contributors include former Beatle Paul McCartney, David Bowie and George Michael. ``Peace Train is a song I wrote, the message...