“This is nice. The guy who supported the assassination fatwa against Salman Rushdie is on stage singing Peace Train. Kumbaya.”

http://twitter.com/jpodhoretz/status/29202902750

Here’s the video of Stevens/Islam on Rushdie: http://is.gd/guDMB

http://twitter.com/allahpundit/status/29204024558

Cat Fight!
Cat Fight!

Who knew all these years that the moon shadow stalking Yusef was Ozzie!
lol

Actually, I would have liked to have seen that. I don’t care for the persona of “Yusuf Islam” but Cat Stevens was top shelf in his day. I spent much time listening to him and Ozzy in my mis-spent youth.

Ummm . . . and how about Yusuf’s support of Hamas (rhetorical and financial)?

Besdies, if you boycott everyone in music you don’t agree with politically you’d end up listening to The Barney Song over and over again.

Finch –

I should clarify that I wouldn’t PAY to see it. He won’t get a dime of mine. But I would listen for free. Fun stuff. And I still have most of his music anyway.

Harry Flashman said:
Besdies, if you boycott everyone in music you don’t agree with politically you’d end up listening to The Barney Song over and over again.

You win comment of the day. An honest-to-god chuckle :)

“He must be killed. The Qur’an makes it clear – if someone defames the prophet, then he must die.” -Yusuf Islam on Salman Rushdie

http://twitter.com/nickgillespie/status/29203359122

Cat Stevens, what, you realized you actually were irrelevant and needed a few buck from the drunks in attendance? This thing sounds pretty much as I imagined.

Rally to restore Fatwas!!

Harry Flashman said:
Finch –

I should clarify that I wouldn’t PAY to see it. He won’t get a dime of mine. But I would listen for free. Fun stuff. And I still have most of his music anyway.

Agreed. Hate to admit it, but Father and Son is one of my all-time favorites.

Finch -

Teah, I guess the whole “Peace Train” thing is pretty much out the window for him now, eh?

Jon Stewart is the absolute best! and proved today he is also very wise and loves this country very much

The TOP 3 BEST Signs at the Rally!
3) An older gentleman had a stuffed coyote with a sign saying “I’m Not a Coyote I’m You”
2) A young man dressed as Papa Smurf had a sign saying “Papa Smurf 2012″.
…1) The BEST was someone had a sign saying “Make Awkward Sexual Advances Not War”

Great rally. John Oliver as Peter Pan and Olivia Munn’s sweet phat butt made it worth it.

Man, those two idiots ruined it by not letting those guys sing. Jon and Steven have such egos they can’t let others get any credit or applause.

So the righties are outraged that Cat Steven played Peace Train at the rally.

Here’s a little scripture to make you feel morally superior to the Muslims:

If within the city a man comes upon a maiden who is betrothed, and has relations with her, you shall bring them both out of the gate of the city and there stone them to death: the girl because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbors wife.
–Deuteronomy 22:23-24 NAB)

Fox News:

Who’s outraged? I would have liked to have heard it. Great stuff musically. I was commenting on the irony of “Peace Train” being sung by someone who now advocates murder in the name of Islam.

By the way, quoting scripture that no sane Christian practices is making your point….how exactly. Sort of got it backwards, don’t you? Christians got away from following this type of thing centuries ago. Cat Stevens writes “Peace Train” THEN advocates murder.

Way to think things through, sparky.

Oh, so you fucking morons selectively decide what is true or false in the Bible, and what is to be followed or not? How fucking convenient.

AnonymousFinch said:
Ummm . . . and how about Yusuf’s support of Hamas (rhetorical and financial)?

What about Yusuf’s condemnation of terrorism and 9/11?
“I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attack, it must be stated that no right-thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action. The Qur’an equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured; I hope to reflect the feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims of this sorrowful moment.”

Fox News -

Your rabid irrationality is typical of the leftist mentality. You know perfevtly well (unless you;re a psycho) that no one in the civilized Christian world would condone stoning someone to death. You use ancient scripture in a feeble attempt to condemn Christianity as a whole.

It goes back to the left being unable to discuss issues on the merits or lack thereof.

Harry Flashman said:
Fox News -

Your rabid irrationality is typical of the leftist mentality. You know perfevtly well (unless you;re a psycho) that no one in the civilized Christian world would condone stoning someone to death. You use ancient scripture in a feeble attempt to condemn Christianity as a whole.

It goes back to the left being unable to discuss issues on the merits or lack thereof.

I’m going to give you a chance to take that back before I go to some comments made about gays and some comments made by ann coulter.

Take it back? You want me to take it back? Want me to write, “I will not express my opinion” on the chalkboard 100 times or stay after class. too?

How about if I said, “nanny nanny boo-boo”. Will that elevate the discourse to a lefty level?

Yeesh.

“those two idiots ruined it by not letting those guys sing. ”

It’s unfortunate that you have no grasp of the concept of satire – especially since your own posts inadvertently contain so much of it.

The O’Jays? OK!

http://www.RepubliCorp.us

jrcmi said:
It’s unfortunate that you have no grasp of the concept of satire – especially since your own posts inadvertently contain so much of it.

The O’Jays? OK!

Hey dickhead- that satire bombed like you.

They were totally UNFUNNY!

“Yusuf has since asserted that he was simply joking and his comments were taken out of context. In the years that has followed, he has repeatedly denied ever calling for the death of Rushdie or supporting the fatwa.”

I don’t give a damn what he asserted. He wasn’t joking, and his comments weren’t taken out of context. He can claim that he never called for Rushdie’s death or supported the fatwa, but it’s just not true. And for Mediaite to print his self-serving denial without giving original comments or their context so that people can see that Yusuf’s denial is farce is journalistic malpractice.

You can advocate for the death of an author, you can give financial and rhetorical support to Hamas, but if you sing a catchy tune about “peace,” the Left will look the other way. It is the complete and total triumph of politically correct messaging over substance.

Why are animals like Yusuf still allowed to travel in polite circles?

And why is he suddenly “Yusuf” and not Yusuf Islam?

AnonymousFinch said:
“Yusuf has since asserted that he was simply joking and his comments were taken out of context. In the years that has followed, he has repeatedly denied ever calling for the death of Rushdie or supporting the fatwa.”

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the Joy Behar defense!

Harry Flashman said:
Cat Stevens writes “Peace Train” THEN advocates murder.

Way to think things through, sparky.

You’re determined to find a reason to just not like this thing, aren’t you? Go trick or treating or something.

AnonymousFinch said:
And why is he suddenly “Yusuf” and not Yusuf Islam?

Stage name. Like Bono….or Poe….or Corpsegrinder if you’re into heavy metal.

AnonymousFinch said:
And for Mediaite to print his self-serving denial without giving original comments or their context so that people can see that Yusuf’s denial is farce is journalistic malpractice.

Here is Hot Air doing it the right way, showing what a farce Yusuf’s disclaimer is:

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/10/30/fatwa-endorsing-singer-featured-at-restoring-sanity-rally/

AnonymousFinch said:
Yusuf has since asserted that he was simply joking and his comments were taken out of context.

From the New York Times:

“The musician known as Cat Stevens said in a British television program to be broadcast next week that rather than go to a demonstration to burn an effigy of the author Salman Rushdie, ”I would have hoped that it’d be the real thing.

“The singer, who adopted the name Yusuf Islam when he converted to Islam, made the remark during a panel discussion of British reactions to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s call for Mr. Rushdie to be killed for allegedly blaspheming Islam in his best-selling novel ”The Satanic Verses.” He also said that if Mr. Rushdie turned up at his doorstep looking for help, ”I might ring somebody who might do more damage to him than he would like.

”I’d try to phone the Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him exactly where this man is,” said Mr. Islam, who watched a preview of the program today and said in an interview that he stood by his comments.”

Also from Hot Air:

“What I find amazing about this is that two stars from Comedy Central would share the stage with a man who supported the idea of murdering an artist for his remarks on Islam. The producers of South Park got death threats from radical Muslims for attempting to depict an image of Muhammed in one of their recent episodes, and the executive management of Viacom forced them to censor the show in fear of Muslim reaction. Now, two of Viacom’s most recognizable television stars have linked themselves to a man who publicly endorsed that exact kind of threat — as a way to “restore sanity.””

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

It’s heart warming to see this concern about Salman Rushdie. After all he was born with the seed of islam to quote Franklin Graham and as such I’d thought most of you here would just think it’s one radical moslem targetting another, since there are no moderates? Kareem Abdul Jabbar was there too I think, I think the NBA should put a religious test on its Hall of fame inductees.

In still like his music. Don’t like him, but I like his music. I could like watching a performing monkey, too, but that doesn’t mean I’d have to like the monkey himself.

ProgLib said:
It’s heart warming to see this concern about Salman Rushdie. After all he was born with the seed of islam to quote Franklin Graham and as such I’d thought most of you here would just think it’s one radical moslem targetting another, since there are no moderates? Kareem Abdul Jabbar was there too I think, I think the NBA should put a religious test on its Hall of fame inductees.

What an asinine argument. Absolutely pathetic.

I read The Satanic Verses back in 1988, and I did so specifically as a protest against the fatwa. It’s a brilliant novel, and Rushdie is a hero. The fact that you mindless leftist drones are cheering–CHEERING!!–the man who wanted to kill that author just shows how pathetic your entire movement is. You don’t give a damn about facts, truth, or even the most basic morality. You just want someone to repeated your talking points. If Yusuf Islam has stood on that stage today and said something about global warming, you’d probably give him a Nobel peace prize.

I prefer Midnight’s Children, but are you denying that most commenters on here don’t think there’s such a thing as moderate moslems? It’s pretty clear to us that read. Also the fatwa wasn’t issued till 89, can I borrow your time machine?

ProgLib said:
I prefer Midnight’s Children, but are you denying that most commenters on here don’t think there’s such a thing as moderate moslems? It’s pretty clear to us that read. Also the fatwa wasn’t issued till 89, can I borrow your time machine?

Sorry, I was off by a year. Sue me.

Yes, I do deny that most people here think there’s no such thing as a moderate Muslim. I think the point is that moderate Muslims exist DESPITE the teaching of the Quran, not because of it. Read McCarthy’s Grand Jijad. I think he does a pretty good job on the subject. Judging by fidelity to the Quran and centuries of Quranic law, the extremists have it right. The moderate Muslims are the radicals who are swimming against the current.

ProgLib said:
I prefer Midnight’s Children, but are you denying that most commenters on here don’t think there’s such a thing as moderate moslems? It’s pretty clear to us that read. Also the fatwa wasn’t issued till 89, can I borrow your time machine?

And why are you trying to change the subject? Do you think it’s appropriate to cheer Yusuf? Why?

What a train wreck.

Instead of letting them play their songs these two idiots kept on interrupting the music. When you consider most came for the entertainment some might feel ripped off.

Outside of the O Jays its a questionable comment on the performers. You had one guy who might be endorsing jihad soon and another one a burnt out drug addict who probably could have been very easily convinced he was in Washington state rather than Washington DC.

The_Reasonable_Lib said:
I’m going to give you a chance to take that back before I go to some comments made about gays and some comments made by ann coulter.

Can you point out the countries that are today ruled by governments that forbid any religion for its citizens other that Christianity that stones people to death or cuts off their heads in a public square as a legal manner of punishment?

ProgLib said:
It’s heart warming to see this concern about Salman Rushdie. After all he was born with the seed of islam to quote Franklin Graham and as such I’d thought most of you here would just think it’s one radical moslem targetting another, since there are no moderates? Kareem Abdul Jabbar was there too I think, I think the NBA should put a religious test on its Hall of fame inductees.

Who said there were no moderate Muslems? Was it someone that I should care about? Can you make a point without relying on lying exageration?

If you think “The Silence of the Lambs” was a horrible sight, wait until you see “The Screaming of the Libs”

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, the libs just could not stop their hate for one day- not for one day!

“Most of those pouring into the Mall Saturday appeared to be younger than 35, and the signs they carried showed a decidedly left-wing bent: “I hope this isn’t a trap,” “I masturbate to Christine O’Donnell,”Communism was a red herring.”

Most signs fit with the happy-go-lucky ethos of the rally, but others were crude. One sign had Hitler mustaches on pictures of Sarah Palin, Eric Cantor, Glenn Beck and John Boehner. The message said, “Afraid yet?” This is particularly insulting to Cantor, who is Jewish and in line to become House Majority Leader if Republicans win next week.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44413.html#ixzz13t9fL9tn

Cat freaking Stevens singing at a ‘Restore Sanity’ rally? If he’s sane, what qualifies as crazy?

Harry Flashman says:
Besdies, if you boycott everyone in music you don’t agree with politically you’d end up listening to The Barney Song over and over again.

Or try country music. Other than that, I do have to put my political views aside. But I draw the line at Barbara Streisand. I REFUSE to listen to her!

It was great seeing Yusuf Islam (Cat) again, and all you muslim haters – take off, eh!

Contessa said:
It was great seeing Yusuf Islam (Cat) again, and all you muslim haters – take off, eh!

Pathetic. You lobs are constantly claiming–wrongly–that prominent conservatives are inciting violence. But here is a gut who really, truly did incite violence–literally– by calling for the murder of an author. And what do you libs do when confronted with someone who really incites violence? You cheer him.

And for the record, I’m not a “Muslim hater.” Last I checked, Salman Rushdie is a Muslim, too.

Contessa said:
It was great seeing Yusuf Islam (Cat) again, and all you muslim haters – take off, eh!

Yeah! What’s wrong with a little Islamic zealotry inspired murder of innocents? Lighten up, y’all.

From Wikipedia, murders that resulted from The Satanic Verses fatwa that Yusuf “Peace Train” Islam endorsed:

As of mid 2010 Rushdie has not been physically harmed, but others connected with the book have suffered violent attacks. Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese language translator of the book, was stabbed to death on 11 July 1991; Ettore Capriolo, the Italian language translator, was seriously injured in a stabbing the same month; William Nygaard, the publisher in Norway, barely survived an attempted assassination in Oslo in October 1993, and Aziz Nesin, the Turkish language translator, was the intended target in the events that led to the Sivas massacre on 2 July 1993 in Sivas, Turkey, which resulted in the deaths of 37 people.[

So it was a “Murder anyone who says bad things about Islam and Prophet Muhammad” day.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/667bkgnr.asp

Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, promotes jihad, terrorism and murder of people who criticize Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

SOME SANITY???

Wow Mediaite writers really come to the defense of a man who DID NOT JOKE about killing Salaman Rushdie or anyone who criticizing Islam or Muhammad.

So YOU, Colby Hall, really believe that Yusif Islam WAS JOKING when he said that Salaman Rushdie should be killed? How is saying someone who exposes Islam and Muhammad to investigation a JOKE?

Yeah…right.. Talk about INSANITY. That is pure insanity and it is more insane to believe he was ‘just joking’.

Latin2 said:
Wow Mediaite writers really come to the defense of a man who DID NOT JOKE about killing Salaman Rushdie or anyone who criticizing Islam or Muhammad.

So YOU, Colby Hall, really believe that Yusif Islam WAS JOKING when he said that Salaman Rushdie should be killed? How is saying someone who exposes Islam and Muhammad to investigation a JOKE?

Yeah…right.. Talk about INSANITY. That is pure insanity and it is more insane to believe he was ‘just joking’.

I agree. I am terribly disappointed in Colby, someone who I otherwise consider the fairest and most even-handed writer on this site. I think it was wholly improper to print Yusuf’s denial and claim that he was joking and it was taken out of context, without also pointing readers to the copious public record showing the contrary. Yusuf is trying to rewrite history to strike a moderate pose. Meidaite has made itself an unwitting party to that deception. Mr. “Peace Train” is thug and brute whose values are antithetical to a free society. He should be universally condemned.

What really upsets me about this whole scene is that it shows what a farce Stewart’s rally really is. If we’re going to have civil discourse in this country, and that’s what you really care about, there ought to be certain things that we can agree on. One of those things, I would hope, is that if you call for the murder of someone whose only crime is writing book, then you should not have a place in civil discourse thereafter. By inviting that sick thug Yusuf Islam on to that stage, and cheering him–yes, cheering him–Stewart showed that he’s only interested in poking a thumb in the eye of people, like me, who hold enlightenment values dear.

Restore sanity? Fuck you, Jon Stewart. If that’s your vision of sanity, I’d rather remain one of the crazy ones.

AnonymousFinch said:
If we’re going to have civil discourse in this country, and that’s what you really care about, there ought to be certain things that we can agree on. One of those things, I would hope, is that if you call for the murder of someone whose only crime is writing book, then you should not have a place in civil discourse thereafter.

Do you believe that the government of the United States has ever openly, via clandestine operation or by proxy, detained, incarcerated, rendered or assassinated individuals to advance political, strategic or economic goals?

Be honest, Finch.

–Cobra

Cobra said:
Do you believe that the government of the United States has ever openly, via clandestine operation or by proxy, detained, incarcerated, rendered or assassinated individuals to advance political, strategic or economic goals?

Be honest, Finch.

–Cobra

This is too weird. I’m going to admit that you are 150% right for the sake of the argument because I really need to see how this is related to Yusuf Islam.

I still can’t believe Colby’s response to Andy Levy’s “Rally to Restore Fatwas?” tweet:
“You clearly never saw Vh1′s Behind The Music on Cat Stevens”

Wow, Colby. You’re kind of awful. Really? Vh1? A little research from something other than Vh1 might have given you the truth. Isn’t Vh1 owned by Viacom along with Comedy Central?

Link to Colby’s response “Vh1″ tweet:

http://twitter.com/colbyhall/status/29203873829

Salman Rushie, the author of the Satanic Verses, said Yusuf Islam, who was a STAR at Stewart/Colbert’s rally wrote that Yusuf Islam wanted him murdered for criticizing Islam and Muhammad;

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100061519/yusuf-islam-aka-cat-stephens-accused-of-backing-salman-rusdie-fatwah-appears-at-rally-to-restore-sanity/

I guess Salman Rushdie didn’t find Yusuf Islam’s ‘joke’ so funny.

Colby, I guess Salman Rushdie didn’t find it a “joke” that Yusuf Islam said he should be killed.

Plus others were ACTUALLY MURDERED who were tied to Rushdie’s Satanic Verses all over the world.

Cobra said:
Do you believe that the government of the United States has ever openly, via clandestine operation or by proxy, detained, incarcerated, rendered or assassinated individuals to advance political, strategic or economic goals?

Be honest, Finch.

–Cobra

So Yusuf Islam’s declaration saying Salman Rushdie should be murdered was part of our government’s mandate?

Please explain your post.

Calvin said:
Link to Colby’s response “Vh1″ tweet:

http://twitter.com/colbyhall/status/29203873829

Who I do I believe, VH1 who was tied to Stewart/Colbert’s rally or the WORD OF SALMAN RUSHIDE HIMSELF…I thought as a reporter Colby you would research it for yourself and not rely on the backers of Stewart’s rally;

Here is Salman Rushdies SAYING THAT RUSHDIE SHOULD BE KILLED AND MURDERED;

http://pajamasmedia.com/eddriscoll/2010/10/30/video-riding-the-peace-train/

All of his videos have been taken off Youtube and other video uploading sites, but I here is one with his own voice.

Oop’s I mean

“Here is YUSUF ISLAM SAYING THAT RUSHDIE SHOULD BE KILLED AND MURDERED;”

http://pajamasmedia.com/eddriscoll/2010/10/30/video-riding-the-peace-train/

Why are you trying so hard to make it like he never said that Colby…you can hear him saying he wanted Salman Rushdie KILLED…and he was NOT joking.

Do some real reporting, instead of parroting. I knew this YEARS AGO, and saw and heard the video before they were taken down…from his own words Colby, not from anyone else.

Salman Rushdie wrote

And here’s Salman Rushdie’s own take, in a 2007 letter to the Telegraph, on what Yusuf meant:

Cat Stevens wanted me dead

However much Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam may wish to rewrite his past, he was neither misunderstood nor misquoted over his views on the Khomeini fatwa against The Satanic Verses (Seven, April 29). In an article in The New York Times on May 22, 1989, Craig R Whitney reported Stevens/Islam saying on a British television programme “that rather than go to a demonstration to burn an effigy of the author Salman Rushdie, ‘I would have hoped that it’d be the real thing’.”

He added that “if Mr Rushdie turned up at his doorstep looking for help, ‘I might ring somebody who might do more damage to him than he would like. I’d try to phone the Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him exactly where this man is’.”

In a subsequent interview with The New York Times, Mr Whitney added, Stevens/Islam, who had seen a preview of the programme, said that he “stood by his comments”.

Let’s have no more rubbish about how “green” and innocent this man was.

Salman Rushdie, New York

uh…did you happen to MISS that Colby when you were defending Yusuf Islam?

Stewart and Colbert look like they’ve been riding thr Gravey Train a little too much, if you ask me.
Put the forks down man!!!!!!!!!

nonetooswift: “Hey dickhead- that satire bombed – ”

– like YOUR typical post.

Sit in the corner and let the adults talk.

“Put the forks down man!!!!!!!!!”

You been taking satire lessons from notsobright???(?????)

my site http://www.aeoos.com will become bigger than this site in just a month yar

Latin2 said:
Salman Rushdie wrote

And here’s Salman Rushdie’s own take, in a 2007 letter to the Telegraph, on what Yusuf meant:

Cat Stevens wanted me dead

However much Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam may wish to rewrite his past, he was neither misunderstood nor misquoted over his views on the Khomeini fatwa against The Satanic Verses (Seven, April 29). In an article in The New York Times on May 22, 1989, Craig R Whitney reported Stevens/Islam saying on a British television programme “that rather than go to a demonstration to burn an effigy of the author Salman Rushdie, ‘I would have hoped that it’d be the real thing’.”

He added that “if Mr Rushdie turned up at his doorstep looking for help, ‘I might ring somebody who might do more damage to him than he would like. I’d try to phone the Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him exactly where this man is’.”

In a subsequent interview with The New York Times, Mr Whitney added, Stevens/Islam, who had seen a preview of the programme, said that he “stood by his comments”.

Let’s have no more rubbish about how “green” and innocent this man was.

Salman Rushdie, New York

uh…did you happen to MISS that Colby when you were defending Yusuf Islam?

Thank you for posting this. It really should have been linked to in the original post.

The other story that Mediaite ought to be doing is that all of videos of Yusuf Islam calling for Salman Rushdie’s death have been removed from You Tube because of a supposed “copyright claim” by Yusuf Islam. That is bogus because Yusuf did not own the original copyright over the program where he made the comments (which was actually the second time he endorsed the fatwa; the first time was untaped). It is also bogus because it would fall under the fair use provisions of the copyright act. Why is You Tube complying with this thug’s attempt to rewrite history? The video is available from other sources (linked to above). Has Yusuf sued any of these parties under the copyright laws? I think not. He knows it would be a waste of money.

Come on, Colby, don’t let me down. I know you really try to be a fair guy. Use Mediaite’s video system to republish the video of Yusuf saying Salman Rushdie should be burned alive. Let your readers see for themselves whether Yusuf was “joking” or “taken out of context”–or whether he is a violent, twisted extremist who holds views fundamentally antithetical to a free society.

The full story on Yusuf should have been included in this story, rather than just pushing off the death wish as a joke. The full spectrum of signs from the rally should have been included in the post script photo essay also, including those against Fox News and Glenn Beck, republicans with Hitler mustaches, and the other negative signs. In addition, at least some discussion should have been included regarding the nearly all-white crowd. But, that would have restored sanity to reporting — fullness of the story, rather than just one side of the story. But hey, it didn’t happen. Perhaps mediaite will post some clarifying posts this morning.

Here is Yusuf on Hamas, as quoted in a New York Times interview:

NYT: For all your devotion to education and good deeds, government officials in various countries have tried to link you to extremist groups, including Hamas. What do you think of Hamas?

Yusuf: That’s an extremely loaded question.

NYT: Can you try to answer it?

Yusuf: I have never supported a terrorist group or any group that did other than charity and good to humankind.

NYT: O.K., but many of us here in the States would like to see moderate Muslims make more of an effort to denounce the extremist fringe of the faith. Very few mainstream Muslims have publicly criticized their radical brethren.

Yusuf: If I am not an example of that, then tell me, Who is?

NYT: So would you say you have contempt for a terrorist group like Hamas?

Yusuf: I wouldn’t put those words in my mouth. I wouldn’t say anything on that issue. I’m here to talk about peace. I’m a man who does want peace for this world, and I don’t think you will achieve that by putting people into corners and asking them very, very difficult questions about very contentious issues.

Sorry, asshole, it’s not a “very, very difficult question” to any sane person.

Cobra said:
Do you believe that the government of the United States has ever openly, via clandestine operation or by proxy, detained, incarcerated, rendered or assassinated individuals to advance political, strategic or economic goals?

Be honest, Finch.

–Cobra

Of course we have, which is a different thing from saying that any American has a duty to kill a guy because he wrote a book that insulted our God.

In fact, Obama has put Anwar al-Awlaki on the hit parade. But you and I aren’t expected to kill him on sight.

AnonymousFinch said:
Here is Yusuf on Hamas, as quoted in a New York Times interview:

NYT: For all your devotion to education and good deeds, government officials in various countries have tried to link you to extremist groups, including Hamas. What do you think of Hamas?

Yusuf: That’s an extremely loaded question.

NYT: Can you try to answer it?

Yusuf: I have never supported a terrorist group or any group that did other than charity and good to humankind.

NYT: O.K., but many of us here in the States would like to see moderate Muslims make more of an effort to denounce the extremist fringe of the faith. Very few mainstream Muslims have publicly criticized their radical brethren.

Yusuf: If I am not an example of that, then tell me, Who is?

NYT: So would you say you have contempt for a terrorist group like Hamas?

Yusuf: I wouldn’t put those words in my mouth. I wouldn’t say anything on that issue. I’m here to talk about peace. I’m a man who does want peace for this world, and I don’t think you will achieve that by putting people into corners and asking them very, very difficult questions about very contentious issues.

Sorry, asshole, it’s not a “very, very difficult question” to any sane person.

Here’s a link to the full NYT interview:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/magazine/07WWLN_Q4.t.html?_r=1&ex=1184040000&en=89ca9abec68275b3&ei=5070

The most amazing part of the interview is that:

1. The New York Times admitted that Hamas is a terrorist group; and,

2. The New York Times reporter correctly stated that: “Very few mainstream Muslims have publicly criticized their radical brethren.”

Of course, that was back in 2007. I’d bet that today neither statement would make it past the NYT’s editors. After all, those are views that only extremist, islamophobic tea partiers express in 2010.

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Ridin’ that train,(bleep) on(bleep),Casey Jones you better watch your speed….
TROUBLE AHEAD,TROUBLE BEHIND,don’t you know that ………..just crossed
my mind…….

Back when Yusuf was agreeing with the hit put out on Salman Rushdie, he hoped they would kill him peacefully.

AnonymousFinch said:
This is too weird. I’m going to admit that you are 150% right for the sake of the argument because I really need to see how this is related to Yusuf Islam.

You didn’t answer the question, but I’ll accept that as a “yes”.

My point:

What is the difference between a kill order on someone over religious beliefs and a kill order on someone for political, economic and strategic beliefs?

If you’re mad at Yusef Salaam, why aren’t you EQUALLY as mad at the last 10 directors of the CIA, and the administrations they worked for?

–Cobra

correction: Yusef Islam

Cobra said:
What is the difference between a kill order on someone over religious beliefs and a kill order on someone for political, economic and strategic beliefs?

Because that statement is so vague as to be meaningless. For example, in World War II, didn’t we try to kill Hitler in order to further our political, economic, and strategic beliefs?

Which murder are you talking about? Give me an example of what you mean, backed by appropriate substantiation and not you’re own paranoid speculations, and I’ll tell you whether it was right or wrong.

But I know this. Whatever it is that you’re going to dream-up, it doesn’t forgive Yusuf Islam, and it doesn’t mean that we should be applauding Yusuf Islam on stage.

Cobra said:
You didn’t answer the question, but I’ll accept that as a “yes”.

My point:

What is the difference between a kill order on someone over religious beliefs and a kill order on someone for political, economic and strategic beliefs?

If you’re mad at Yusef Salaam, why aren’t you EQUALLY as mad at the last 10 directors of the CIA, and the administrations they worked for?

–Cobra

So you advocating killing a writer who criticizes a religious figure? Last time I looked our government was killing people who made fun of Jesus. uh,, that is the difference.

Calvin said:
Here’s the video of Stevens/Islam on Rushdie: http://is.gd/guDMB

http://twitter.com/allahpundit/status/29204024558

That’s a rather selectiveley edited video. Given that Rushdie pronounced his own fatwa against Afghan civilians, maybe Yusuf was on to something.

Jelperman said:
That’s a rather selectiveley edited video. Given that Rushdie pronounced his own fatwa against Afghan civilians, maybe Yusuf was on to something.

Did he say it or didn’t he say it. Apparently Salman Rushdie SAW THE WHOLE VIDEO when it appeared on the BBC. Rushdie, who is Liberal, wrote a letter to the UK largest newspaper denouncing Yusuf Islam who wanted Rushdie murdered.

Jelperman said:
That’s a rather selectiveley edited video. Given that Rushdie pronounced his own fatwa against Afghan civilians, maybe Yusuf was on to something.

The video is not the only time Yusuf endorsed the fatwa. He had done so on two previous occasions, but not on tape.

Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam seems awfully confused. Maybe he needs to look for a new spirituality in his life.

Holy Hell! It is true about conservative women being the good looking ones. That audience was full of younger versions of Joy Behar, Janet Reno, Janeane Garofalo, and Sandra Bernhard.

How many people went to this rally?

Latin2 said:
Did he say it or didn’t he say it. Apparently Salman Rushdie SAW THE WHOLE VIDEO when it appeared on the BBC. Rushdie, who is Liberal, wrote a letter to the UK largest newspaper denouncing Yusuf Islam who wanted Rushdie murdered.

And Rushdie supports the US/UK occupation of Afghanistan, which has killed tens of THOUSANDS of civilians. Rushdie should write to the British papers and denounce himself for wanting them dead.

Sure you were! And the cow jumped over the moon and the dish ran away with the spoon.
Why shouldn’t we believe a muslim convert; who lives in a third world country. And still
finds a way to accept money from capitalist record companies.
Why shouldn’t we believe he just kidding. Please just go back to Kathmandu.

Perfect satire. Hated filled apologists allow equally hate filled promoter of execution for thought crimes to perform in “Rally to Restore Sanity”.

You can’t write this stuff – enjoy the teabagging today, you deserve it!

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