Posted on 09/01/2004 6:21:09 AM PDT by F14 Pilot
IRAN'S Islamic Propagation Organisation has approved for sale the music of Cat Stevens, the British singer who converted to Islam and changed his name to Yusuf Islam.
"We have chosen to put on the market a selection of songs from Cat Stevens, to show to the Iranian youth that not everything in the West is bad," the organisation's music director Reza Mahdavi told AFP.
He said Stevens, a folk icon of the late sixties and early seventies, contrasted with the likes of Michael Jackson - the "King of Pop" facing trial in the US for alleged child abuse.
"There may be Michael Jackson, but there is also Cat Stevens - who converted to Islam while in the heart of the same Western world," Mr Mahdavi enthused.
"We chose Yusef Islam because he is a Muslim artist," he said, adding that cassettes and CDs containing 75 of his songs - recorded before and after his 1977 conversion to Islam - would go on sale in Iran on September 20.
The music will be accompanied by a book featuring lyrics and their Persian translations, statements by the artist and a biography of Britain's most famous Muslim convert - best remembered for hits such as Wild World, Peace Train, Moon Shadow and Morning Has Broken.
The singer hit controversy in 1989 when he was quoted as supporting the death sentence against British author Salman Rushdie ordered by Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The musician has denied ever supporting the fatwa.
"We will also publish the comments of Yusef Islam after September 11, in which he denounces the allegations made against Muslims," the official said, before going on to say the singer should visit the Islamic republic.
"We want to invite Yusuf Islam to Iran. When his album and book comes out, it will be a good time for him to come," Mr Mahdavi said, adding a second album and book was ready to roll if the first release proved a success.
But it is unclear if Stevens, who is 56 and lives in London where he is involved in several Muslim charities, will be making any royalties from the Iranian release of his work.
Iran does not respect international intellectual property laws and even officially sanctioned releases of Western music or films are merely copies pirated locally.
According to the organisation, each cassette will cost 7000 rials (a little less than $US1), a CD will cost around $US3 and the book $US2.
Last month another Iranian state body, the culture and Islamic Guidance ministry, said that Queen had become the first rock band to be given the official seal of approval in Iran.
This decision was taken even though Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury was an outlandish gay icon.
Homosexuality is strictly banned in Iran.
Western music is strictly censored in Iran and those selling foreign music need special permits, although millions of pirated banned CDs and cassettes are sold on the black market.
Other western acts to have had albums of selected songs released on the official Iranian market are Elton John, Julio Iglesias and Gypsy Kings.
Interestingly, both his parents are Greek. There is no bigger anathema for their generation than a greek boy converting to islam.
"He ceased to be Cat Stevens and became Yusuf Islam."
Stevens was asked on a BBC TV interview what the Koran would say about blasphemy. He said that it wasn't his view and he was misquoted. Radio stations around the world banned his music after the statement. The dust would eventually die down and you can occasionally hear a Cat Stevens song on the radio now.
He was not widely heard from for another ten years, until he shocked admirers at the end of the '80s by supporting the death sentence ordered by the Ayatollah Khomeini against novelist Salman Rushdie for writing the book The Satanic Verses. Some "classic rock" radio stations discontinued playing him as a result, and 10,000 Maniacs, who had covered "Peace Train" on their In My Tribe album in 1987, had it removed from the record. He later claimed that he had been manipulated by the media, who were looking for a statement from a prominent British Muslim, but he did not disavow his statement.I'll bet the Jews were behind it -- they do control the media. From the Cat Stevens website, and in his own words:
My only crime was, I suppose, in being honest. I stood up and expressed my belief and I am in no way apologizing for it. I expressed the Islamic view based on the Qur'an, the Prophet's sayings (peace and blessings be upon him) and the rulings of the Caliphs and renowned schools of Islamic jurisprudence... If we can't get satisfaction within the present limits of the law, like a ban on this blasphemous book, 'Satanic Verses' which insults God and His prophets - including those prophets honoured by Christians, Jews as well as Muslims - this does not mean that we should step outside of the law to find redress. No. If Mrs. Thatcher and her Government are unwilling to listen to our pleas, if our demonstrations and peaceful lobbying don't work, then perhaps the only alternative is for Muslims to get more involved in the political process of this country. It seems to be the only way left for us... The present attitude of the Government and press is obviously as a result of their opposition to the Islamic legal ruling that Rushdie should be executed and the fact that it has come from an Islamic country. The fact is that as far as the application of Islamic Law and the implementation of full Islamic way of life in Britain is concerned, Muslims realize that there is very little chance of that happening in the near future. But that shouldn't stop us from trying to improve the situation and presenting the Islamic viewpoint wherever and whenever possible. That is the duty of ever Muslim and that is what I did.He mentions the Jews, and a different media reaction to another work. Cat Stevens wants Salman Rushdie dead.
The Hidden Hand:
Middle East Fears of Conspiracy
by Daniel Pipes
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