Cat Stevens' comments about Salman Rushdie

Following Ayatollah Khomeini's 14 February 1989 death fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, after the publication of Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses, British musician Yusuf Islam (previously and better known by his stage name Cat Stevens), made statements endorsing the killing of Rushdie, generating sharp criticism from commentators in the West.

In response, Yusuf Islam said that some of his comments were "stupid and offensive jokes" made in "bad taste,"[1] while others were merely giving his interpretation of Islamic law but not advocating any action.[2][3] Islam also said that later in the same programme he promised to accept the judgment of a British court if it found Rushdie innocent of any crime, blasphemy or otherwise.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ChineseWhiskers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ The May 2006 BBC interview with Alan Yentob displays a newspaper clipping reportedly from that time, which quotes from his statement.
  3. ^ interview by Andrew Dansby (14 June 2000). "Cat Stevens Breaks His Silence". Rolling Stone magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2007.