Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam, commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, humanitarian, and education philanthropist. His 1967 debut album reached the top 10 in the UK, and the album's title song "Matthew and Son" charted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. His albums Tea for the Tillermanand Teaser and the Firecatwere both certified triple platinum in the US by the RIAA. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and Islamic music...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionFolk Singer
Date of Birth21 July 1948
CityLondon, England
I'm not the best of you, but I'm not the worst either.
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go.
I suppose that by being absent from the music business, it appeared that I just dropped out, but really I never did. I was continuously working and doing various things.
Salman Rushdie, indeed any writer who abuses the prophet or indeed any prophet under Islamic law, the sentence for that is actually death.
This is the beauty of the Qur'an: it asks you to reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or moon but the One who has created everything. The Qur'an asks man to reflect upon the sun and moon and God's creation in general.
Sun is the reason And the world it will bloom 'Cause sun lights the sky And the sun lights the moon
I had to learn my faith and look after my family, and I had to make priorities. But now I've done it all and there's a little space for me to fill in the universe of music again.
It is part of my faith as a Muslim to try to help those who are suffering from poverty or economic or political injustice.
Everything I do is for the pleasure of Allah.
Being more mature now, I've managed to make peace with my past, as it's making peace with me. Certainly there's a mutual gain for reflecting on both phases of my life, and although I consider the here and now perhaps to be more important, there are still many people who appreciate my past ephemeral stages and the lessons they represent.
A person who steals bread during a famine is not treated as a thief.
When many astronauts go to space, they see the insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space, and they become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of Allah.
Violence is almost an everyday occurrence in some Muslim lands: it should not be exacerbated by revenge attacks on more innocent families and communities.
Because I don't play guitar any more, African harmonies and rhythms have been an inspiration to me. I love the raw origin of the sound. It complements my voice and words naturally.