21 July will be the 60th birthday for Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, who was formerly known as Steven Georgiou.Visiting a university in London in 1989, he was asked about the fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, to which he is reported to have replied, "He must be killed. The Qur'an makes it clear - if someone defames the prophet, then he must die."
Asked to clarify this statement by the Christian Science Monitor, he is reported to have said, "In Islam there is a line between let's say freedom and the line which is then transgressed into immorality and irresponsibility and I think as far as this writer is concerned, unfortunately, he has been irresponsible with his freedom of speech. Salman Rushdie or indeed any writer who abuses the prophet, or indeed any prophet, under Islamic law, the sentence for that is actually death. It's got to be seen as a deterrent, so that other people should not commit the same mistake again."
He also doesn't want to answer questions about Hamas.
Mr Islam has retired from recording, but much of his time is taken up receiving prizes.
1 comment:
"Mr Islam has retired from recording..."
...because, according to most, Islam (the religion) forbids music except for the human voice and the cacophony of exploding buddhist statues.
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