Singer on no-fly list had ties to terrorist groups, U.S. official says

[quaoar]

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/politics/9733433.htm

Posted on Wed, Sep. 22, 2004
BY SHANNON MCCAFFREY
Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The former Cat Stevens was slated to be deported to England on Wednesday because of U.S. government concerns that the soft-rock singer turned Muslim activist has ties to terrorism.

The "Peace Train" singer was placed on the no-fly list this summer after new intelligence showed Stevens - now known by his Muslim name Yusuf Islam - had "connections to groups involved in terrorist activities," said a U.S. government official speaking on condition of anonymity. A second senior U.S. official said there were concerns that Islam - believed to have provided money to the militant Palestinian group Hamas - also may have visited an Islamic extremist camp in South Asia sometime in the past. He declined to elaborate.

< snip >

A U.S. official said it is believed that Islam also provided support to Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as the blind sheik, who was convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

< snip >

Leading Muslim groups leapt to Islam's defense Wednesday. The Council on American Islamic Relations fired off a letter to President Bush and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge asking for an explanation of why Islam was denied entry to the United States.

[Jacobin]

1. Yes. He was known to have contacts with the Peter,Paul&Mary Gang

In addition, he had been to training camps disguised as concerts with Joan 'Peacenik" Baez, and was thought to have had coffee once with The Monkees in a Paris cafe.

Also, if you play, "Peacetrain" backwards, it says nice things about Osama.

Glad they finally captured this dangerous guy.

[olddad56]

31. his guitar case looked mighty heavy, could have been carrying a nuke.

[anarchy1999]

41. We all need to call and make our voices be heard loud this time.

Intellectuals, singers and musicians, members of NGO's doing humanitarian work.....This gov't, this administration, in our name, is out of control.

[liberalmuse]

2. I'd laugh...

if this weren't so fucking scary. Hell, the Bush junta has closer ties with terrorists than Yusef Islam. This is how the Holocaust started, folks.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. I wonder about this

Yusuf Islam could be the name of several people....are they sure they have the right person? Knowing Cat Stevens, and his fame, I don't think he was involved with terrorists...this would have come out far earlier than now. But lets not forget that this same Bush Administration has harrassed and grounded such known terrorists as Teddy Kennedy....

[acmavm]

4. Considering that every frigging case that Asscroft's Justice Department

has brought before the courts has either been thrown out or dismissed, I would hazard to say that asshat wouldn't know a terrorist if one walked right up to him and punched him in that repulsive nose of his.

[Dulcinea]

5. Ashcroft is much scarier than Cat Stevens.

(Or Yusuf Islam.)

[DoveTurnedHawk]

6. Dumbest. Fucking. Thing. Ever.

Let's suppose for the sake of ludicrous argument that he did have ties to terrorist groups.

Wouldn't it then make sense to let him into the country and put him under surveillance, once he tripped the list?

:crazy:

DTH

[shadu]

7. Well, we know he is Muslim.

What else do we need to know? TERRA!!!
Pure terra!!!! He's very lucky he was allowed
to leave at all.

How did he get the name 'Cat,' anyway?
That sounds like a terra name to me.

This guy was nothing but terra, plain and simple.

:)

[54anickel]

8. It's a long story, and thread. Something he said in '89

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x844254#845830

[quaoar]

12. Actually, that's not why he's on the list

It's not because of the Rushdie thing. They are saying it has to do with that blind cleric who was involved with the first WTC attack.

[leQ]

16. has anybody seen any proof of those charges?

all we have are words from known liars. i highly doubt cat stevens, the peacenik of peace, is, was, or ever will be involved terrorism.

[quaoar]

17. Proof?

We don't need no stinkin' proof. Off to Gitmo.

[louis-t]

49. OK, I'm back

and I need to address this right now. Cat Stevens did NOT (as the media would have you believe) condone the Rushdie 'thing'. In 1989, Yusef Islam, formerly Cat Stevens and a recent convert to Islam, was grilled by the media regarding Ayatollah Khomeni's edict on Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses". Being that most of the media and American public as well were ignorant of Islam, they found a high-profile Muslim they could interview. They asked him what the 'fatwa' meant and he tried to explain it with phrases like "from what I know..." or "I believe it means...". This was translated by the media into "Cat Stevens agrees with the terrorists". Sickening.

[yardwork]

14. When he came out in favor of the death sentence on Rushdie

the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens became persona non grata to a lot of his former fans, including me.

[bpilgrim]

23. and has since changed his tune...

like other personal heros of mine...



Get your bags together, go bring your good friends too
Cause it's getting nearer, it soon will be with you

Now come and join the living, it's not so far from you
And it's getting nearer, soon it will all be true

Now I've been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating, why can't we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again




i still really enjoy his oldies, which resonate more deeply in these dark times.

:hi:

peace

[Gruenemann]

53. another flip-flopper! eom

[louis-t]

50. I was the biggest of fans

and I, too, was disappointed when this story came out. That is, until I did some investigation. Here is what I found: Cat Stevens did NOT (as the media would have you believe) condone the Rushdie 'thing'. In 1989, Yusef Islam, formerly Cat Stevens and a recent convert to Islam, was grilled by the media regarding Ayatollah Khomeni's edict on Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses". Being that most of the media and American public as well were ignorant of Islam, they found a high-profile Muslim they could interview. They asked him what the 'fatwa' meant and he tried to explain it with phrases like "from what I know..." or "I believe it means...". This was translated by the media into "Cat Stevens agrees with the terrorists". Sickening. He is the kind of Muslim the world needs more of, not less of. He is, and always has been, a peace activist. He has helped schools in poor Muslim nations, become a worthy hero to a lot of Muslim children, and I believe he sets a much better example than the so-called 'clerics' who teach hatred of Israel and the U.S.

[The Chronicler]

9. The guy's been kinda whacked out since becoming Muslim.

I saw a biography on TV about him. He's totally renounced music because of his dedication to Islam. He kinda seems like he's gone off the deep end a bit.

[Kool Kitty]

29. He can't have renounced music too much,

because he recently did a re-recording of "Peace Train", because he is opposed to the invasion of Iraq. He was backed on the remake by a chorus of children from Zimbabwe. In fact, Robert Knight is playing it right now on his show on WBAI. Quite lovely it is, too.

[54anickel]

10. At least this article points to the miserable failure of the Dept of

Homeland Insecurity. Most of the others concentrated more on the reasons he was on the list rather than how the hell did he get on the plane in the first place if he was considered such a "menace to society". :eyes:

Hadn't seen this in any of the articles either:

Islam had been on U.S. government watch lists for years but had been permitted to enter the country several times for tours to promote his music, officials said. He was in the United States as recently as May.

Wonder how many years "for years" means? Since 89, on and off since 89? How long is your name on this mysterious gov't watch list once you make it anyway?

[chookie]

11. My two cents

Cat/Yusuf may be a little goofy according to some of us -- I am one, admittedly -- but just because we don't like someone, or have trouble with the lifestyle they chose doesn't mean that we should not give a fig about their rights and violations thereof.

Accusing Cat/Yusuf of groups linked to the WTC attack is a VERY SERIOUS allegation. Prediction: he will sue, and win big time. Sadly, the Cat Stevens Terrierist case is yet another example of the breathtaking bumbling of "Homeland Security" and the war on terrierists. **This** is the kind of guy that they "have the goods on", that they keep off of flights, a faded peacenik pop star who had a personal religious conversion to an "exotic" faith -- not the real bad guys. Yeah -- so now they have to *say* he has ties to terra groups planning attacks, but mark my words, it will backfire on them, again, because this level of accusation against a (presumably) innocent person will meet with reprisals, most notably among our allies in truly freedom loving nations like England, France Germany, etc.

Sadly, another consequence of stupidity and bungling like this is that boy oh boy -- do we look STUPID! Why do we look stupid? Because we ARE stupid, because our idiotic Bushista government has their heads totally up their fat stupid asses, and are totally lost when it comes to dealing with the serious issues of terrorism. They are totally way over their level of competence -- and here's yet another example.

Cat Stevens is the best they can/will do in the war against terra -- just as Martha Stewart is the best they will do to address corporate corruption, and Tommy Chong is the best they will do about serious fucking drug issues.

Talk about giving aid and comfort to the enemy!! What could be more encouraging to your average red-blooded murderous terrorist than to see your target acting with total incompetence against you and seeing with your own eyes how vulnerable they STILL are to your future attacks? Believe me -- watching carnival freak shows like Dubya and Tom Ridge are what is giving comfort and encouragement to our real enemies -- NOT Americans speaking against the war or against this idiotic president.

As far as the alleged ties to terra that Cat/Yusuf has -- if ANY such"evidence" exists, my guess is that he contributed to charities that went to Palestinians, and even perhaps Palestinians who are relatives of suicide bombers whose homes were destroyed by Israelis in reprisal attacks. It's just a question of semantics whether this is "aid to terrorists".

[donco6]

13. Let's all duck now.

Here they come.

[rooboy]

15. I've had cab drivers who were scarier than Cat Stevens. n/t

[pangowango]

19. Maybe he is a terrorist ?

Why would a singer join forces with a cult that bans music ?

[chookie]

22. Islam is a cult?

Is that you, John Ashcroft?

[AlCzervik]

18. Why are the same standards not applied to DC folks

Grover Norquist is involved with muslim charities they may ties to fungind terrorisim and yet he's free to walk around the US and be an asshole.

[pangowango]

20. He's a bad one

Yusef Islam ptovides funding to terrorists connected to 1993 WTC bombing?

May 21, 2003 NY Daily News Story references:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/81149p-74395c.html

The article by Jake Tapper claims that Stevens, who changed his name to Yusef Islam in 1977, gave the money to Mouhammad Abdel- Rahman, a son of the notorious blind sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

"We don't think this - we know it," Israeli government spokesman Daniel Seaman tells the magazine.

Islam also helped radical cleric Sheik Omar Bakri Muhammad get a lawyer after he was jailed for saying Britain's then-Prime Minister John Major was "a legitimate target" for assassination, the mag reports.

He's a member of the Finsbury Park Mosque....along with Richard Reid, Sheik Omar Bakri Muhammad, where group members of Al Muhajiroun and Khilafah also go

[AlCzervik]

24. than why was he sent back to england and not held here?

[chookie]

25. The New York Daily News Daily Dish and Gossip is like the Bible to me too!

Great source. Thanks for straightening us out. :eyes:

[Nihil]

33. Just on the off-chance that you're still here ...

One article by an unknown toss-pot accusing a celebrity of a hard to
prove *action* (not crime) is simply not just cause for this idiocy.

(If the alleged donation was a crime, the police authorities would be
directly involved, not just letting it drift by for years until those
jumped-up traffic wardens in the TSA decide they want some publicity.)

> Islam also helped radical cleric Sheik Omar Bakri Muhammad get a
> lawyer after he was jailed for saying Britain's then-Prime Minister
> John Major was "a legitimate target" for assassination

It would be truly ironic in twenty or so years time for historians to
look back and recognise that "he was a hero in the fight against the
Carlyle Group's world domination"!
:)

> He's a member of the Finsbury Park Mosque, along with ...

... loads of other law-abiding Muslims ... this is one of the biggest
mosques in the country ... how about persecuting all of the soldiers
who happened to be in the Army at the same time that Tim McVeigh was?

Nihil

[Media_Lies_Daily]

42. Right. Israel has told us a lot of things....

...not all of it has been true, and every bit of it serves Israel's interests, and Israel's interests alone.

[Jacobin]

21. What they failed to mention is that he flew to the U.S. two months ago

But NOW, he's a threat?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

26. I heard today he had raised money for 9/11 survivors

Any truth to this?

If it is true he hardly sounds like a terrorist to me.

[KDLarsen]

44. I think he set up a fund of sorts

.. but I can't remember where I got that from.

[chookie]

27. Hmm. Cat Stevens was on the Clear Channel "Banned Songs" list

Cat Stevens, "Peace Train"
Cat Stevens, "Morning Has Broken"

HEY! Jacobin! You were right about the infamous Peter Paul and Mary Gang! They made the list too!
Peter Paul & Mary, "Blowin' in the Wind"
Peter Paul & Mary, "Leavin' on a Jet Plane"

Here's some other terror anthems
Sam Cooke/Herman's Hermits, "Wonderful World"
The Beatles, "Obla Di, Obla Da"
Simon & Garfunkel, "Bridge Over Troubled Water"
Rolling Stones, "Ruby Tuesday"
John Lennon, "Imagine"
Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Travelin' Band"
http://radio.about.com/library/weekly/blCCbannedsongs.htm

I guess they knew what they were doing. :eyes:

[OneBlueSky]

28. if John Lennon were alive . . .

this is exactly what BushCo would be doing to him . . .

[truthisfreedom]

30. no freaking kidding. john lennon, RIP. imagine there's no bushco... it's

easy if you try...

[anarchy1999]

40. I think you may be on to something.

That's another sticker.

IMAGINE THERE'S NO BUSHCO
IT'S EASY IF YOU TRY-------

[TankLV]

32. And we should believe this repuke government why?

They have been proven to lie 99% if not 100% of the time under the criminals installed IN SPITE OF WHAT THE VOTERS WANTED, so why should ANYONE believe what they say?

After all, they let almost all the "terrorists" they had illegally detained, like Hamde (spelling?) during their racist and illegal search ans seisure paranoia after 911, along with the British lapdog government, after almost 3 years of imprisonment, without any charges being filed.

They arrested and sent to our own concentration camps, innocent US Citizens, who did nothing, without any trial, without any legal representation - and there are still unknown many hundreds (thousands?) sent to our very own concentration camp in Gitmo along with others we know even less about - even in other countries who have well known predillictions for torture, etc.

[doctorus]

34. mad idea

the artist as terrorist - that's simply the mad idea

[w4rma]

35. They're around every corner! LOOK! There's one behind you!

Todays word is "paranoia".

[Dem2theMax]

36. Here is the former Cat Stevens web site.

Here is today's statement:

22nd September 2004

Site visitors and fans alike will no doubt have heard about today's news that Yusuf Islam has been refused entry into the US. As yet we have no specific information from the US immigration authorities as to why he was not allowed to enter the country. What we can say, however, is that he will be shocked and angered at being associated with anyone who commits acts of violence. He has vehemently and consistently criticized terrorist acts and has always advocated peace through his songs and his extensive humanitarian relief work. He has traveled many times to the US, most recently two months ago on a visit with his record company. Any suggestion therefore that he poses a security risk due to alleged connections with terrorist activities is totally denied as it is simply wrong. We are seeking further details so that we can challenge the decision to refuse him entry. When we have more information we will be able to comment further. We feel certain that this matter will be resolved soon.


http://www.yusufislam.org.uk/

The site has tons of articles and information on him. Worth spending some time there to see what he has been doing with his life. From what I've read so far, it sounds like charity work, helping children, doing music again - for children, and of course, supporting peace.
Yep, what a horrible person. No WONDER why he's on 'the list.'

"Don't you feel the day is coming
and it won't be too soon
when the people of the world can all live in one room
when we shake off the ancient
shake off the ancient chains of our tomb
we will all be born again
of the eternal womb"

Whoops, there he goes, singing about peace again. ;)

[TheWebHead]

37. Six Degrees of Cat Stevens

It's pretty sad our no fly list is an Islamic modification of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. It's a safer bet that the Bush family has closer ties based on this system than Cat due to the Carlyle Group's ties to the Saudis. It's pretty clear that if you want to fly, you cannot donate to any charities in the Arab world, sounds like status quo conservative philosophy.

[biftonnorton]

38. Talk About Outsourcing

We don't need moldy old Cat Yousef coming to our country taking up record company resources and radio time that should be spent on up-and-coming American artists who have a similar message. Those kids need our support more than ex-Cat does.

[gulliver]

39. I'll bet most of those kids you are talking about ...

... at least the ones who play acoustic guitar would probably disagree with you.

[biftonnorton]

46. Nope, Just Asked 4 College Kids I Work With

All play acoustic guitar, write songs and are trying to get a deal, one already has a writing deal and hopes to get an artist deal, and all have at least 2 recent songs I've heard that are "Cat-like." 2 of them have heard the name Cat Stevens, 2 had not. I've heard their songs, and most of them are better and more deserving of airtime than Cat's droppings. They struggle to make ends meet and buy equipment and studio time. We need to focus on our homegrown musical artists first. We already heard Cat's crap. How many times do you want "Pea Strain" redone?

[Media_Lies_Daily]

43. What is your major malfunction? Fall off the bed on the wrong side?

[noonwitch]

45. I don't have any sympathy for him whatsoever, even though I like his music

He supported the Ayatollah's death demand for Rushdie. He also has allegedly financially supported Hamas.

He at one point denounced all the music he had written and performed as Cat Stevens, music that I really enjoy. Now, he's playing it again and calling himself a peace activist. It's not that I don't think people can change and change back again, but his alleged support for Hamas is grounds enough for the US to keep him out of the country. I just wonder if the government is only doing this to arabs with terror ties-are they tracking the Irish, too? Lots of IRA members have had ties to the PLO, Hamas, etc.

[The Stranger]

47. Then people you "have no sympathy for" deserve no civil liberties?

Like the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law? Like due process? Like the right to confront their accusers? Or, noonwitch, do we witchhunt and hang people based on baseless innuendo?

I just wonder if the government is only doing this to arabs with terror ties-are they tracking the Irish, too?

Hmmmmm. First they came for the "arabs with terror ties", right?

[Lerkfish]

48. geez, people, AGAIN, the death threat myth is pervasive but untrue...

started by one interview when the interviewer asked him the Koran's view on blasphemy.
If the same interviewer asked me the old testament's view on touching a woman during her period, and I answered truthfully, would that mean I condone stoning people to death?

context is everything. But repeat the lie often enough, it appears to come true. That's the Bushco philosphy, but it doesn't play any better when we do it.

Additionally, if those are his "ties" to terrorism, we should deport someone who has a long term relationship family to family with Osama bin Laden, who protected the Al Queda leader's extended family by allowing them to leave the country after 9/11, who has steadfastly blacked out any reference to the one country who had 16 of the nineteen hijackers...and whose embassy officials bankrolled some of the hijackers.

You know who that someone is, right? Bush.

[Pert_UK]

51. The 2nd coming of Jesus would be rejected too.......

"Sir, it seems we have some kind of militant guy from the middle east....Doesn't speak any English and we've heard he hangs out with a group of followers who disrupt honest companies going about their business changing money in temples and who speak out against rich people going to heaven..."

"Put him on the list....."

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

52. Didn't the Saudi Royal Princess contribute $$$ to known terror groups?

I believe I read somewhere that she did this through accounts in the Riggs Bank being overseen by the Monkey's Uncle, Jonathan Bush. Are members of the Saudi Royal Family on the no-fly list?