# Who gets the profits from Cat Stevens' records?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-profits-from-cat-stevens-records/20176>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 22, 2000, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-profits-from-cat-stevens-records/20176 "2000-05-22T09:26:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-profits-from-cat-stevens-records/20176/1 "2000-05-22T09:26:21Z")

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Just saw an ad for his greatest hits CD and wondered if he still collects royalties from them.

In case you don’t know Cat Stevens converted to Islam, changed his name, and basically belives the west to be the land of the infidels. The last time I saw him on TV was about 10 years ago where he was stating his support for the death of Salmon Rushdie.

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**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-profits-from-cat-stevens-records/20176/2 "2000-05-22T10:04:06Z")

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Presumably Cat Stevens collects his own royalties. Moslems don’t take a vow of poverty. What proportion of the royalties he gives to Islamic charities is another question.

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2000, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-gets-the-profits-from-cat-stevens-records/20176/3 "2000-05-22T17:21:45Z")

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The proceeds from Cat Stevens’ albums go to Yusuf Islam.

The Los Angeles Times had an article about him yesterday.  
[LA Times Article on Steven Georgiou / Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam](http://www.calendarlive.com/music/20000520/t000047974.html)

He will probably be getting additional exposure soon, since A&M/Universal Music Enterprises’ is releasing newly remastered reissue of his original albums, marking the 30th anniversary of his debut.

As far as Wendell Wagner’s point, “_what proportion of the royalties he gives to Islamic charities_”, the article has this answer.

> [@](#):
>
> He took the faith on Dec. 23, 1977. Two years later, he entered an arranged, still successful, marriage with Fouzia Ali–whom he fondly acknowledges as just the sort of hardheaded woman he sang about so wistfully on “Tea for the Tillerman” three decades ago. Soon the first of his five children was born.
> 
> As a family they immersed themselves in the devout procedures of Islam, their days built around the five pauses for prayer to Mecca, starting at dawn. Previously a generous donor to such causes as UNICEF, he gave half of his substantial royalty income to Islamic charities, especially the trust he set up to found Islamic schools in London (there are four now, one of them royally blessed by a recent visit from Prince Charles).