The facts, however, indicate that he
was lying. On February 21, 1989 one week after the fatwa – he
addressed a group of Muslim students
at Kingston Polytechnic.
He was asked about Rushdie's death
sentence.
The facts, however, indicate that he
was lying. On February 21, 1989 - one
week after the fatwa – he addressed a
group of Muslim students at Kingston
Polytechnic.
He
was
asked
Rushdie's
death
sentence.
"He must be killed," he replied. "The
Quran makes it clear. If someone
defames the prophet he must die."
Murdoch
The Bishop of Manchester in the Church
of England said the British blasphemy
law is indefensible because it protects
only the established Christian church.
Other clerics have suggested that the
law be extended to other faiths so
Muslim objectors could stop offensive
books through court order.
In December 1977, Cat Stevens visited
London's Central Mosque and converted
to Islam. As Yusuf Islam, he was later
accused of supporting the Ayatollah
Khomeini's death sentence (fatwa) on
Salman Rushdie for his authorship of
The Satanic Verses.
"One night I was lying back in bed," Cat
Stevens once claimed, "and I saw this
flying saucer shoot across the sky and
stop over me. And it sucked me up into
it. When it put me down, I shot up in
bed. I knew it wasn't a dream. It didn't
feel like a dream. It was real, I know it
was real..."
The Bishop of Manchester in the Church of
England, the Rev. Stanley Booth-Clibborn,
said the British blasphemy law is
indefensible because it protects only the
established Christian church. Other clerics
have suggested that the law be extended to
other faiths so Muslim objectors could stop
offensive books through court order.
Government Defenders
Under Islamic Law, the ruling regarding
blasphemy is quite clear; the person
found guilty of it must be put to death.
Only under certain circumstances can
repentence be accepted…The fact is that
as far as the application of Islamic Law
and the implementation of full Islamic
way of life in Britain is concerned,
Today, Yusuf Islam is arguably one of
the world's most famous converts to
Islam. His pioneering work in the field of
education resulted in securing a
landmark decision by the British
government to certify and support
Islamic education throughout Great
Britain.
The three schools he founded in
London’s Brent district – Islamia
Primary, Islamia Girls' Secondary and
the Brondesbury College for Boys –
consistently
top
the
borough’s
examination league tables
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.
Cat Stevens Gives Support To Call for
Death of Rushdie
By CRAIG R.
WHITNEY
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.'‘
A British bookseller, Tim Waterstone,
chairman of the chain bearing his
name, said that intimidation by
opponents of the book ''at the end of
the day probably will work.''
''I don't want to see my staff in peril of
their life and health,'' he said, ''and I
don't want to see my customers in
peril.''
Stevens later defended Sharia (Islamic
law which prescribes the amputation of
thieves's hands and the stoning of
adulterers),
supported
the
fatwa
against Salman Rushdie ("He must be
killed. The Qur'an makes it clear. If
someone defames the prophet he must
die..."), and (perhaps unwittingly)
donated money to "charities" which
funded terrorist activities.
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 bestselling 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. The statements
by Mr. Islam and several other participants
in the discussion demonstrate how divided
British liberal intellectuals remain over the
affair. British writers and publishers have
signed petitions backing Mr. Rushdie's
freedom to write what he wishes, but there
have been no public readings of his works.
'Not a Pacifist Religion'
Also on the show was Dr. Kalim Siddiqui,
director of the Muslim Institute in London
and one of the organizers of a nationwide
demonstration against ''Satanic Verses'' that
is scheduled for Hyde Park on Saturday. He
said: ''I wouldn't kill him, but I'm sure that
there are very many people in this country
prepared at the moment. If they could lay
their hands on Rushdie, he would be dead.
''As a British citizen, I have a duty, if you
like, a social contract with the British state,
not to break British law. We are not a pacifist
religion. We don't turn the other cheek. We
hit back.''
Murdoch
Several of the participants defended Mr.
Rushdie. The writer Fay Weldon, for
example, said, ''Burn the book today, kill the
writer tomorrow.'' She said she was offended
by Mr. Islam's remarks, which she said
incited people to violence.
Muslims in Britain have been divided by the
affair. They demonstrated against the book in
several cities late last year, but they say
British news organizations began paying
attention to their objections only after the
book was publicly burned. Dr. Siddiqui said
book-burning was not on the program for
Saturday's demonstration.
He and other Muslims who participated in the
53-minute courtroom-style program, ''A
Satanic Scenario,'' to be broadcast on
Britain's Independent Television Network
next Tuesday night, objected to cuts in the
three-hour taping session, held April 15, that
omitted
the
Muslim
justification
for
punishment of blasphemy.
Yusuf later backpedaled once again,
defending his stand on the issue and
calling the fatwa a deterrent (which he
likened to America's possession of
nuclear weapons). "My only crime," he
remarked without a trace of irony,
"was, I suppose, in being honest."
[After flirting with every other major
religion (as well as Tarot cards, the I
Ching,
and
astrology),
Stevens
converted to Islam (and donated
money to "charities" which funded
terrorist activities). His conversion was
prompted by a large wave which he
claimed had saved him from drowning
while swimming in the ocean. His song
'Longer Boats' is a song about flying
saucers.]
Stevens/Yusuf made his last stage
appearance on November 22, 1979,
later declaring, "I enjoyed the show,
but my heart was with Allah." In order
to abide by the Hadith (the sayings of
the prophet Muhammed), which forbids
images that may induce sentiments of
human worship, he demanded that his
label (Island Records) reissue his
records with his pictures removed from
the covers. Though Island reluctantly
complied, many observers could not
help but laugh at the absurdity of the
demand.
According to the Hadith, music itself
(particularly instrumental music) is
haram - expressly forbidden. (In the
late 1990s, Radio Sharia - the Taliban's
radio station - broadcast a song by
Yusuf
Islam
called
"Afghanistan."
According to a Radio Sharia executive,
the song was not haram because it was
a cappella and religious in nature.)]
[Trivia: In 2004, Islamic courts in Saudi
Arabia banned the music played when a
telephone call is placed on hold.]