Singer 'shocked' by deportation
I am reminded of the famous Wendy’s TV commercial “Show me the beer”. There should be no secrets here, if Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) has committed some criminal act that prevents him from returning to America, the put the information in the public domain. He is (or was) an American citizen after all, and is a prominent peace activist. When we take action against a prominent public figure and justify it by stating “the intelligence community has come into the possession of additional information that further raises our concern”, we are hiding behind conspiracy to justify our actions. It feels like the McCarthy era all over again.
Yusuf Islam is supposed to have donated money to Hamas. Yusuf claims to have never donated money to any terrorist group. Perhaps if he came out and said he has never donated money to Hamas he could dispel this rumor.
Yusuf Islam is known throughout the world for his humanitarian work and for his remarkably consistent message against terrorist’s acts. His recent post on the The Beslan Tragedy is a great example. He condemns the terrorists, their actions, and then goes on to clarify Islam’s view on the subject. It’s a great read and helps one to understand his motivation. (I don’t agree with all of what he says, but does that really matter?)
Oh, a parting thought; the only “donating” I remember hearing about is Yusaf Islam’s donation of his royalties from the release of his new box set catalog to the 9/11 fund.
