# The Cat Stevens song in the commercial: He really is a terrorist. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202 "2009-12-06T16:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/1 "2009-12-06T16:16:00Z")
I can’t stand that tepid dreck: “If you want to sing out, sing out! If you want to…” Gitmo is too good for him. hh ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/2 "2009-12-06T16:21:03Z")
That’s Cat Stevens? I used to love him. Now I hate him. I hate that song, too. Worst feel good piece of crap ever! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/3 "2009-12-06T16:23:53Z")
Did Cat Stevens piss in your Cheerios this morning? He’s basically lived a pretty low profile life for the last 30 years. > **[Cat Stevens |](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens#Life_as_Yusuf_Islam_.281978.E2.80.93present.29)** > > Following his conversion to Islam, Cat Stevens (now named Yusuf Islam), abandoned his musical career for nearly two decades. When he became a Muslim in 1977, the Imam at his mosque told him that it was fine to continue as a musician, as long as the songs were morally acceptable, but others were saying that "it was all prohibited", and he decided to avoid the question by ceasing to perform. He has said that there was "a combination of reasons, really", and that the continuing demands of the mu In ... ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/4 "2009-12-06T16:44:56Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Did Cat Stevens piss in your Cheerios this morning? He’s basically lived a pretty low profile life for the last 30 years. Well yeah, except for that kill the infidel [misunderstanding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens%27_comments_about_Salman_Rushdie). \*"On February 21, 1989, Yusuf Islam addressed students at Kingston University in London about his conversion to Islam and was asked about the controversy in the Muslim world and the fatwa calling for Salman Rushdie’s execution. He replied, “He must be killed. The Qur’an makes it clear - if someone defames the prophet, then he must die.” [5] Newspapers quickly denounced what was seen as Yusuf Islam’s support for the assassination of Rushdie and the next day Yusuf released a statement saying that he was not personally encouraging anybody to be a vigilante,[1] and that he was only stating that blasphemy is a capital offense according to the Qur’an. However on March 8, 1989, while speaking in London’s Regents Park Mosque, Yusuf Islam was asked by a Christian Science Monitor reporter how he would “cope with the idea of killing a writer for writing a book.” He is reported to have replied: ``` In Islam there is a line between let's say freedom and the line which is then transgressed into immorality and irresponsibility and I think as far as this writer is concerned, unfortunately, he has been irresponsible with his freedom of speech. Salman Rushdie or indeed any writer who abuses the prophet, or indeed any prophet, under Islamic law, the sentence for that is actually death. It's got to be seen as a deterrent, so that other people should not commit the same mistake again."* ``` Poor Yusuf/Cat has been sadly misunderstood, obviously. Mrs. J. has collected some of his music but only what she could find secondhand, to avoid his profiting in any way. I never liked any of his stuff so I don’t have to make these tricky decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/5 "2009-12-06T16:55:01Z")
I don’t care about his conversion to Islam. I just hate that song with a burning passion. ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/6 "2009-12-06T17:16:21Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I don’t care about his conversion to Islam. I just hate that song with a burning passion. Question: Have you seen Harold and Maude? Because that’s how I was introduced to Cat Stevens, and I can’t help but associate that song with the movie, which is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/7 "2009-12-06T17:18:06Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Well yeah, except for that kill the infidel [misunderstanding](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens%27_comments_about_Salman_Rushdie). > > \*"On February 21, 1989, Yusuf Islam addressed students at Kingston University in London about his conversion to Islam and was asked about the controversy in the Muslim world and the fatwa calling for Salman Rushdie’s execution. He replied, “He must be killed. The Qur’an makes it clear - if someone defames the prophet, then he must die.” [5] What I didn’t realize until I actually read _The Satanic Verses_ a couple years ago is that Cat Stevens (or a very thinly veiled fictionalized version of him) is actually _a character in the book_, as is the Ayatollah Khomeini. It kind of makes me wonder what what actually pissed him off so much - the “defaming” of the prophet, or of himself. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/8 "2009-12-06T17:20:11Z")
> [@runcible\_spoon](#): > > Question: Have you seen Harold and Maude? Because that’s how I was introduced to Cat Stevens, and I can’t help but associate that song with the movie, which is a good thing. No, I saw it in Charlie Barlett though which I enjoyed, but I hated that song. It was so cheesy… ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/9 "2009-12-06T18:08:27Z")
Bit of a tangent, but HOW IN HELL did the Black Eyed Peas publicist convince the whole mollyfocking world that the Black Eyed Peas “music” is the most important cultural development since the invention of the printing press?!? It true talent finally meaningless??? Is good PR all that is needed for superstardom? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/10 "2009-12-06T18:20:17Z")
> [@runcible\_spoon](#): > > Question: Have you seen Harold and Maude? Because that’s how I was introduced to Cat Stevens, and I can’t help but associate that song with the movie, which is a good thing. Same here. The song is only the music from _Harold and Maude_. Cat Stevens wrote and performed it in 1970 or 1971 for the movie, and long before he embraced Islam. Now it’s a 39-year-old song in a commercial. Big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/11 "2009-12-06T18:43:29Z")
Love his music. Like him. He certainly is not a terrorist. > [@](#): > > I’m very sad that this seems to be the No. 1 question people want to discuss. I had nothing to do with the issue other than what the media created. I was innocently drawn into the whole controversy. So, after many years, I’m glad at least now that I have been given the opportunity to explain to the public and fans my side of the story in my own words. At a lecture, back in 1989, I was asked a question about blasphemy according to Islamic Law, I simply repeated the legal view according to my limited knowledge of the Scriptural texts, based directly on historical commentaries of the Qur’an. The next day the newspaper headlines read, “Cat Says, Kill Rushdie.” I was abhorred, but what could I do? I was a new Muslim. If you ask a Bible student to quote the legal punishment of a person who commits blasphemy in the Bible, he would be dishonest if he didn’t mention Leviticus 24:16. [2] ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/12 "2009-12-06T19:13:30Z")
He’s not a terrorist. I’ve always liked that song quite a bit; it’s not one of his very best, but it fills its place perfectly in the “Harold and Maude” soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/13 "2009-12-06T21:25:54Z")
😛 > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Did Cat Stevens piss in your Cheerios this morning? No, in my ears. But, if you want to be him, be him! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Pulp\_Friction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2acd7d/32.png) [@Pulp\_Friction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pulp_Friction)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/14 "2009-12-07T00:54:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Same here. The song is only the music from _Harold and Maude_. Cat Stevens wrote and performed it in 1970 or 1971 for the movie, and long before he embraced Islam. Now it’s a 39-year-old song in a commercial. Big deal. Thanks, Spoons, for saving me from having to articulate this spot-on answer. If anyone has not seen H & M, you owe it to yourself to do so. And by the way, I like the song. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/15 "2009-12-07T01:26:32Z")
He may or may not have said Rushdie should die, I don’t know and I don’t care. He has several good songs and I enjoy many of them. Wasn’t there a thread a while back (possibly about Polanski) where the question was raised about being able to enjoy the work of an artist who has done or said something bad? I don’t like Cat Stevens for his religion or purported extremist views…I couldn’t give a shit about that. I just like his songs. “The First Cut is the Deepest” is a great song, as are “I Love my Dog” and “Here Comes my Baby.” ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/16 "2009-12-07T19:07:08Z")
My girlfriend the last couple years of high school was a huge fan. I barely tolerated his pappy music then and my moderate dislike at age 17 has grown into an outright loathing in the couple of decades since. The very sound of the man’s voice sends me flailing for the mute button. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/17 "2009-12-07T19:27:50Z")
> [@kidneyfailure](#): > > “The First Cut is the Deepest” is a great song It’s a great song, but Stevens’ version of it is actually pretty awful. Rod Stewart fixed it by removing an out-of-sync line from the chorus and filling out the sound. I like the Sheryl Crow version too, but Rod really saved this song from the scrap-heap. I say this as a big fan of Cat Stevens overall, and a medium size fan the Mona Bone Jakon album. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/18 "2009-12-07T20:50:13Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > It’s a great song, but Stevens’ version of it is actually pretty awful. Rod Stewart fixed it by removing an out-of-sync line from the chorus and filling out the sound. I like the Sheryl Crow version too, but Rod really saved this song from the scrap-heap. So true - and I saw, back in the 80’s, Terence Trent D’Arby do an acapella version that was wonderful. I totally get how someone like the OP could find a snippet of song nerve-wracking, but I like a lot of Cat’s songs, even though I tend to be un-folky in my guitar music preferences…YMMV ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/19 "2009-12-07T20:56:55Z")
He sucks, the song sucks, his music sucks. Total waste of resources. ---
**Author:** ![Countrypolitan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/858c86/32.png) [@Countrypolitan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Countrypolitan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202/20 "2009-12-08T01:32:52Z")
Seconded. Bleech, luckily they don’t show those Time-Life compilation album commercials anymore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-cat-stevens-song-in-the-commercial-he-really-is-a-terrorist/520202.md?page=2)