Yusuf Islam’s Appearance at Jon Stewart’s Rally

The appearance of Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) at Jon Stewart's “Rally to Restore Sanity” has sparked controversy. At Hot Air, Allahpundit explains why. You can also read these twoarticles by Nick Cohen in Standpoint magazine (UK) for background on the matter. The gist of the issue is that Yusuf Islam has said that Salman Rushdie, who famously authored The Satanic Verses, deserved to die for his blasphemy against Islam. That is, when faced with a choice between Rushdie and Ayatollah Khomeini (who issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death), Yusuf Islam chose Khomeini.

This should be enough to see that Yusuf Islam is not a moderate Muslim, and that he instead holds some radical beliefs and doesn't belong at a supposed “Rally to Restore Sanity.”

Rushdie was obviously disturbed to see that Jon Stewart had no qualms about putting Yusuf Islam up on stage. So, Rushdie spoke to Stewart about it. According to Nick Cohen, here is how Rushdie summarizes his exchange with Stewart:

I spoke to Jon Stewart about Yusuf Islam's appearance. He said he was sorry it upset me, but really, it was plain that he was fine with it. Depressing.

It is depressing – but not surprising.