Madina Archives

Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

Questions for YUSUF ISLAM
Sara
12/03/00 at 13:12:47
I was looking through the New York Times magizine(issue August 2000)and saw this interview with YUSUF ISLAM.  The caption says: The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens discusses his conversion, the reissue of his old recordings and his recent ejection from israel. __________________________________________________ Q: YOU'VE BEEN RETIRED FROM THE BUSINESS OF BEING CAT STEVENS SINCE YOU CONVERTED TO ISLAM IN 1977. DURING THAT TIME,YOU ESTABLISHED FOUR ISLAMIC CHILDREN'S SCHOOLS IN LONDON AND THE MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT RECORD LABEL. THIS SUMMER, YOUR OLD RECORDS ARE BEING RERELEASED. HOW DID THAT DECISION COME ABOUT? Probably it began in 1995, when I re-entered the studio to try to makes some recordings that would help to explain some of the beauties of life that I live today, from my faith. And I've had a change in attitude toward the old records as well. When I became a Muslim, I listened to a lot of people telling me a lot of different things, and I suppose there were certain attitudes in the music business that didn't fit in with the life of someone who wanted to get away from corruption and competition and greed. But really, that meant throwing the baby out with the bath water. Now, after a great deal of study on the subject, I think there's a whole lot of evidence for the acceptance of wholesome cultural expression within moral guidelines. And I think some of my songs had already got those moral guidelines within them. Q: YES, A LOT OF YOUR SONGS FROM THE 70'S ARE VERY DEVOTIONAL. A SOMG LIKE "HOW CAN I TELL YOU" COULD JUST AS EASILY BE ADDRESSED TO GOD AS A LOVER. That's right. It fits into a kind of threshold of spirit, of souls talking above the mundane matters of this earth. For example, "Moonshadow" indicates the optimistic view of life that I take and I hope others take. I think I've made peace with my past, as my past is making peace with me. Q: lET'S TALK ABOUT israel's RECENT REFUSAL TO LET YOU ENTER THE COUNTRY TO FILM PART OF A "BEHIND THE MUSIC" PROGRAM FOR VH-1. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TIME THAT ANYONE SUGGESTED "BEHIND THE MUSIC" WAS COVERLY SUPPORTING TERRORIST ACTIVITY. We went there because Jerusalem was an important aspect of my discovery of Islam. The first place I ever prayed was Al-Aksa in Jerusalem. So it's a very profound part of my history. Q: YOU'RE VERY ACTIVE IN SUPPORING MUSLIM CAUSES. I was on of the founders  of an international organization called Muslim Aid. But because I wanted to get more control over the way the money is spent, I've started a charity called Small Kindness. We began work recently in Kosovo. But even as a non-Muslim, I was a good-will ambassador for Unicef. Q: WHAT ABOUT THE israeli CLAIM THAT YOU'VE ALSO SUPPORTED TERRORIST GROUPS? Those statments, which I read after being sent back on the plane, were news to me. I came with a broken traveling iron,a deodorant stick, a toothbrush and some clothing. I don't see how that poses any serious danger to national security, but there we are. Q:I THINK PEOPLE ASSOCIATE YOU WITH TERRORISM BECAUSE OF THE STATEMENTS THAT YOU MADE WHEN THE FATWA WAS INITIATED AGAINST salman rushdie. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, SOMEONE ASKED YOU ABOUT THE PUNISHMENT FOR blasphemy, AND YOU QUOTED THE QUR'AN TO THE EFFECT THAT THE PUNISHMENT IS DEATH. What I had to deal with--and not very successfully--when I was a new Muslim was being thrust to the front and asked to answer the most complicated legalistic questions. That was a general answer to what I thought was a general question. As if, for instance, someone was asked to quote a law from the Bible on a particular crime and punishment. Q; LATER YOU ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING THAT MUSLIMS SHOULD FOLLOW THE LAWS OF THE COUNTRIES IN WHICH THEY LIVED,AS LONG AS THAT DIDN'T INTERFERE WITH THEIR FREEDOM TO FULFILL THEIR BASIC RELIGIOUS DUTIES. SO,DOES CARRYING OUT A FATWA FALL WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF FULFILLING YOUR BASIC RELIGIOUS DUTIES? I think that you as an individual have no responsibility to implement it by yourself, or to take the law in your own hands. Q: WAS THERE ANY ONE EVENT THAT LED TO YOUR CONVERSION? I was swimming at Malibu, and as soon as I tried to get back to shore, I was fighting the Pacific, slipping slowly out. I called out, "Oh, God, if you save me I will work for you!" At that moment a wave was sent behind me, I was swimming back to land and I was suddenly safe and alive. Q: AND TWO YEARS LATER YOU FOUND ISLAM. EVEN BACK IN YOUR CAT STEVENS DAYS, THOUGH, YOU WERE INTERESTED IN ISSUES, AS YOU SAY, ABOVE THE MUNDANE OF THIS EARTH. ALIEN ABDUCTION, FOR EXAMPLE. Yeah. Hmmm. My interviews may have been peppered with a slight dose of exaggeration, to keep the journalists awake and interested. I have much more interesting tales to tell today.                                 ----Mim Udovitch

Re: Questions for YUSUF ISLAM
bhaloo
12/05/00 at 13:30:56
slm Did you guys see that special they had of Yusuf Islam on MTV (I think that's what it was) ?  It was really good, showing his journey to Islam and he did a good job of explaining Islam, alhumdullilah.

Re: Questions for YUSUF ISLAM
se7en
12/05/00 at 13:50:13
wa alaykum as salaam wa rahmatAllahi wa barakatuh, It was VH1.  It was awesome, one of the best programs I've seen about Islam on television.

Re: Questions for YUSUF ISLAM
Arsalan
12/05/00 at 14:38:58
Yup.  We showed that VH1 program here for our IAW (Islam Awareness Week).  The response was really good from the audience.  One guy in particular is seriously thinking about Islam after that program.  May Allah make it easy for him and guide him to the Truth. Wassalamu alaikum.

Re: Questions for YUSUF ISLAM
haaris
12/06/00 at 12:57:51
Does anyone have a copy of it that I can borrow?  I don't know when it was on over here.  I've tried e-mailing both VH-1 and Mountain of Light but received no response from either. Better still, if I send someone a tape, could they copy it for me? Jazaka' Allahum Khairun.
Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author. The rest © Jannah.Org