# Cat Stevens/Salman Rushdie

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 12, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953 "2003-07-12T12:18:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jruberry03](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@jruberry03](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jruberry03)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953/1 "2003-07-12T12:18:34Z")

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What is the real story about Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam) allegedly speaking out in favor, sighting the Koran, of the killing of “Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie in the late 1980s? A Google search, mysteriously, does not turn up much. I visited Cat/Yusuf’s web site, and while he denies the accusation, his explanation is so filled with doublespeak, I have to conclude he is–at a minimum–fibbing at least a little bit. Did the onetime singer of “Peace Train” take a transfer to a more menacing ride?

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**Author:** ![MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@MC\_Master\_of\_Ceremonies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_Master_of_Ceremonies)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953/2 "2003-07-12T12:32:56Z")

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> [@](#):
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> Yusuf Islam had nearly faded from public consciousness when in 1989 he made the infamous announcement that he supported the Ayatollah Khomeini’s death sentence for Satantic Verses author Salman Rushdie. American radio stations stopped playing Cat Steven songs in protest – WNEW in New York even gave away free copies of The Satanic Verses to listeners who turned in their old Cat Stevens records.

[http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=537&cf=537](http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bio.asp?oid=537&cf=537)

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**Author:** ![Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreaming_of_Maria_Callas)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953/3 "2003-07-12T14:18:51Z")

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[Wikipedia](http://www.wikipedia.org) has some information on the Satanic Verses affair. Check out the article on [Salman Rushdie](http://http://www.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?search=salman+rushdie&go=Go) and [Yusuf Islam](http://http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_Islam).

UnuMondo

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953/4 "2003-07-12T15:05:44Z")

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[A fairly recent comment on the subject in his own words.](http://catstevens.com/articles/00236/index.html)

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [July 12, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953/5 "2003-07-12T18:45:07Z")

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I’ve seen a couple of recent interviews (i.e. in the last 10 years) and he simply will not provide a straight answer to the question.

Haj

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**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-stevens-salman-rushdie/187953/6 "2003-07-13T13:37:35Z")

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I think at this point it’s pretty clear that islam did make the statement but that he regrets and is embarassed about it now and that’s why he tries to shadowbox around the subject when it’s broached.

–Cliffy