Cat Stevens at Glastonbury 2023? bad, bad idea.. :(

[icehorse]

Cat Stevens / Yusuf has been invited to play at a HUGE music festival - Glastonbury 2023 - this summer.

I think this is a horribly bad, no good decision. Years ago Yusuf supported the death sentence fatwa against Salman Rushdie for his book "The Satanic Verses". Since then, Yusuf has tried to sidestep the issue, but he's never stated cleanly and clearly that the fatwa is a horrible idea.

Yusuf should NEVER get a free pass to pretend this never happened. Salman Rushdie was attacked, and almost killed, by an Islamist less than a year ago. This is not "old news".

This article completely ignores Yusuf's bad actions, argh!:

Yusuf/Cat Stevens on his new album, dreams of a Green Day collab, and the Glasto legend's slot

BTW, if you haven't read "The Satanic Verses", you ought to. This book was used by Islamists as a reason to justify violent, sometimes deadly protests throughout the world. It takes some real mental gymnastics to see how this book is offensive, and even if it was, that does NOT justify violence.

 

[rocala]

I had been a big fan of Cat Stevens. I will never forget the shock of reading of his support for the fatwa.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I agree that Cat Sevens should be excluded from the festival due to his extremism and the context of the recent attack on Rushdie, but... aren't you supporting "cancel culture" here? Looks like you might have gone woke!

(I'm kidding, obviously, but hopefully you now see the point that "canceling" certain people by excluding them from some events or venues is sometimes the responsible or even necessary thing to do.)

 

[icehorse]

I agree that Cat Sevens should be excluded from the festival due to his extremism and the context of the recent attack on Rushdie, but... aren't you supporting "cancel culture" here? Looks like you might have gone woke!

(I'm kidding, obviously, but hopefully you now see the point that "canceling" certain people by excluding them from some events or venues is sometimes the responsible or even necessary thing to do.)

I think it's a good question! My answer would be to bring this issue to light and see what happens, not just to "cancel". I'm usually a "sunlight is a great disinfectant" sort of person.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I had been a big fan of Cat Stevens. I will never forget the shock of reading of his support for the fatwa.

Goes against about everything he sung about.

 

[Twilight Hue]

I had been a big fan of Cat Stevens. I will never forget the shock of reading of his support for the fatwa.

Goes against about everything he sung about.

Peace train will never recover.

 

[muhammad_isa]

I agree that Cat Sevens should be excluded from the festival due to his extremism and the context of the recent attack on Rushdie,.

Give the guy a break !
On his website he says:

I never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini—and still don’t. The book itself destroyed the harmony between peoples and created an unnecessary international crisis. When asked about my opinion regarding blasphemy, I could not tell a lie and confirmed that – like both the Torah and the Gospel – the Qur'an considers it, without repentance, as a capital offense. The Bible is full of similar harsh laws if you're looking for them. However, the application of such Biblical and Qur'anic injunctions is not to be outside of due process of law, in a place or land where such law is accepted and applied by the society as a whole..

Due to his fame, he became the media spokesman for political events in the 1980's.
He used to attend the central mosque in London, whose committee was primarily Middle Eastern.

He quit London altogether, and now lives in Dubai. He does not want to be known by mistaken statements that he made whilst a young man. That is primarily why he went back to music, against the advice of the Muslim majority.
Personally, I have great respect for him. He is not a violent man.
He remains to be a peacemaker.

 

[Revoltingest]

Give the guy a break !
On his website he says:

I never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini—and still don’t. The book itself destroyed the harmony between peoples and created an unnecessary international crisis. When asked about my opinion regarding blasphemy, I could not tell a lie and confirmed that – like both the Torah and the Gospel – the Qur'an considers it, without repentance, as a capital offense. The Bible is full of similar harsh laws if you're looking for them. However, the application of such Biblical and Qur'anic injunctions is not to be outside of due process of law, in a place or land where such law is accepted and applied by the society as a whole..

Due to his fame, he became the media spokesman for political events in the 1980's.
He used to attend the central mosque in London, whose committee was primarily Middle Eastern.

He quit London altogether, and now lives in Dubai. He does not want to be known by mistaken statements that he made whilst a young man. That is primarily why he went back to music, against the advice of the Muslim majority.
Personally, I have great respect for him. He is not a violent man.
He remains to be a peacemaker.

The quoted statement still leaves the door open for
capital punishment within due process. It's not as bad
as what's commonly attributed to him, but this quote
smacks of condoning his execution of apostates.

 

[muhammad_isa]

The quoted statement still leaves the door open for
capital punishment within due process..

That is more about the discussion of capital punishment v. life imprisonment etc.
Re. apostate, that is the discussion about national security, similar to 'defecting to Russia' with govt. secrets etc.
Most Muslim jurists do not agree with automatic punishment for apostacy per se.

 

[exchemist]

Cat Stevens / Yusuf has been invited to play at a HUGE music festival - Glastonbury 2023 - this summer.

I think this is a horribly bad, no good decision. Years ago Yusuf supported the death sentence fatwa against Salman Rushdie for his book "The Satanic Verses". Since then, Yusuf has tried to sidestep the issue, but he's never stated cleanly and clearly that the fatwa is a horrible idea.

Yusuf should NEVER get a free pass to pretend this never happened. Salman Rushdie was attacked, and almost killed, by an Islamist less than a year ago. This is not "old news".

This article completely ignores Yusuf's bad actions, argh!:

Yusuf/Cat Stevens on his new album, dreams of a Green Day collab, and the Glasto legend's slot

BTW, if you haven't read "The Satanic Verses", you ought to. This book was used by Islamists as a reason to justify violent, sometimes deadly protests throughout the world. It takes some real mental gymnastics to see how this book is offensive, and even if it was, that does NOT justify violence.

Cat Stevens was already someone whose voice set my teeth on edge when I was at university, in the early 70s. Ghastly man, ghastly music, ghastly opinions. Even his face. He has what the Germans call a backpfeifengesight, which can be loosely translated as a "clip-round-the-ear face":



To see it is to want to punch it.

 

[Kathryn]

I have to agree. I want to punch him right now in fact. LOL

 

[icehorse]

That is more about the discussion of capital punishment v. life imprisonment etc.
Re. apostate, that is the discussion about national security, similar to 'defecting to Russia' with govt. secrets etc.
Most Muslim jurists do not agree with automatic punishment for apostacy per se.

Any kind of punishment for so-called "blasphemy" is barbaric, imo. Any religious person who cannot tolerate criticisms of their religion must have a very fragile belief.

And, can you tell me what exactly was blasphemous in the Satanic Verses?

 

[Debater Slayer]

Give the guy a break !
On his website he says:

I never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini—and still don’t. The book itself destroyed the harmony between peoples and created an unnecessary international crisis. When asked about my opinion regarding blasphemy, I could not tell a lie and confirmed that – like both the Torah and the Gospel – the Qur'an considers it, without repentance, as a capital offense. The Bible is full of similar harsh laws if you're looking for them. However, the application of such Biblical and Qur'anic injunctions is not to be outside of due process of law, in a place or land where such law is accepted and applied by the society as a whole..

Due to his fame, he became the media spokesman for political events in the 1980's.
He used to attend the central mosque in London, whose committee was primarily Middle Eastern.

He quit London altogether, and now lives in Dubai. He does not want to be known by mistaken statements that he made whilst a young man. That is primarily why he went back to music, against the advice of the Muslim majority.
Personally, I have great respect for him. He is not a violent man.
He remains to be a peacemaker.

Notice that I didn't say Cat Stevens approved of some vigilante killing Rushdie or of the fatwa; I said this:

I agree that Cat Sevens should be excluded from the festival due to his extremism and the context of the recent attack on Rushdie, but... aren't you supporting "cancel culture" here? Looks like you might have gone woke!

(I'm kidding, obviously, but hopefully you now see the point that "canceling" certain people by excluding them from some events or venues is sometimes the responsible or even necessary thing to do.)

He is indeed an extremist who believes in the death penalty for "apostates" or, at the very least, "blasphemers," unless his beliefs have changed in that regard. Rushdie was recently attacked by an unhinged extremist who obviously believes "blasphemers" should die. I didn't go into whether Cat Stevens believes the punishment for apostasy or "blasphemy" should be carried out by vigilantes or by a state; I find it reprehensible that he believes in it to begin with. He approves of state-sanctioned murder for perceived blasphemy.

On 21 February 1989, Yusuf Islam addressed students at Kingston Polytechnic (now 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."[4]

Cat Stevens' comments about Salman Rushdie - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Kathryn]

I better shut up about the prophet then, FO SHO.

 

[muhammad_isa]

And, can you tell me what exactly was blasphemous in the Satanic Verses?

No .. I haven't read it, and am not interested. I am British, and do not pay much attention to
blasphemy, atheism or bad manners.
I'm surrounded by it.

 

[icehorse]

No .. I haven't read it, and am not interested. I am British, and do not pay much attention to
blasphemy, atheism or bad manners.
I'm surrounded by it.

Your loss, it's a fine piece of fiction. IMO, not blasphemous or bad manners

 

[muhammad_isa]

He is indeed an extremist who believes in the death penalty for "apostates" or, at the very least, "blasphemers," unless his beliefs have changed in that regard. Rushdie was recently attacked by an unhinged extremist who obviously believes "blasphemers" should die. I didn't go into whether Cat Stevens believes the punishment for apostasy or "blasphemy" should be carried out by vigilantes or by a state; I find it reprehensible that he believes in it to begin with. He approves of state-sanctioned murder for perceived blasphemy.

Much of his earlier opinions came from the Arab community in central London Mosque.
It's like condemning a man for something he said decades ago..
..but I know, I know .. the devil won't leave him alone .. he's too famous to be ignored.
He must be "put down".

I say he is a man of peace..
..and God knows best.

 

[Debater Slayer]

Much of his earlier opinions came from the Arab community in central London Mosque.
It's like condemning a man for something he said decades ago..
..but I know, I know .. the devil won't leave him alone .. he's too famous to be ignored.
He must be "put down".

I say he is a man of peace..
..and God knows best.

If he has changed his mind on that, my comments don't apply. If he hasn't, they completely do.

 

[muhammad_isa]

If he has changed his mind on that, my comments don't apply. If he hasn't, they completely do.

..whatever..
..just for sake of argument, would you exclude a Jew from the concert, because he believed in the Torah?

15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
- Bible Leviticus 24 -

..or is it just Muslims that are 'nasty' people?

 

[Debater Slayer]

..whatever..
..just for sake of argument, would you exclude a Jew from the concert, because he believed in the Torah?

15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
- Bible Leviticus 24 -

..or is it just Muslims that are 'nasty' people?

If any performer—Jewish, Muslim, or otherwise—publicly stated their support for the death penalty for "blasphemy," yes, I would also be for their exclusion from the festival. Supporting state-sanctioned murder of someone for their "blasphemy" or lack of belief is a red line regardless of who expresses it.