Yusuf
Folk / Rock
Cat Stevens (born Steven Demetre Georgiou on July 21, 1948), now known as Yusuf Islam or simply Yusuf, is a well-known English musician, singer-songwriter and a prominent convert to Islam.
At the outset of his musical career, Georgiou adopted the stage name Cat Stevens; under this moniker, he sold over 60 million albums, mostly in the 1970s. His most notable songs include "Morning Has Broken", "Peace Train", "Moonshadow", "Wild World", "Father and Son", "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out", "The First Cut Is the Deepest", and "Trouble".
Stevens became a convert to Islam in 1977, after a near-death experience. He adopted the name Yusuf Islam in 1979, and became a pious advocate for the religion, devoting himself to educational and philanthropic causes in his community. A decade later, controversy arose when he was reported to have made comments that seemed to support a fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie, but he claimed to have been misinterpreted. He publicly and vehemently condemned the September 11 attacks, saying they were not consonant with the teachings of the religion of Islam, and mourned the loss of life. In 2004, he returned to the public eye when he was denied entry into the United States after his name appeared on a no-fly list.[1] He successfully sued British newspapers for libel because of their reports on this incident.
Yusuf Islam currently lives with his wife and children in London, where he is an active member of the Muslim community, and spends part of each year in Dubai. He founded, and is chairman of, the Small Kindness charity, which initially assisted famine victims in Africa and now supports thousands of orphans and families in the Balkans, Indonesia, and Iraq.[2] Islam also founded the charity Muslim Aid, in 2004 he was given the Man of Peace award for promoting international social justice and peace.
Yusuf Islam released a new record album in November, 2006 entitled An Other Cup, his first pop album of new songs in 28 years.
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