Cat Stevens denied entry into U.S.

[jlabsher]

I feel so much safer now.

[T.Rally]

Ooh baby baby it's a wild world

[Kain99]

We've seen Americans turned traitor before... Why should he get special treatment?

[tirdun]

The key to this article is

In July 2000, Stevens was denied entry to Israel amid reports that he had donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Islamic terrorist group, Hamas.

This would, of course, put him on the US watch list, since Hamas is a major terrorist organization. Even if the report were false, which is what Stevens (or Yusuf Islam as he calls himself) claims, it would flag him as someone to pay attention to.

In a statement released by his record label Universal Music at the time, he said: “I want to make sure that people are aware that I’ve never ever knowingly supported any terrorist groups – past, present or future.”

I've no idea whether or not anything ever came of the 2000 incident, or if there is any basis to it.

Regardless, he was not denied entry because he's a muslim, he was denied entry because he is suspected of contributing to Hamas.

[Ken King (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Kain99

We've seen Americans turned traitor before... Why should he get special treatment?

Was Cat Stevens ever an American? I thought he was a Greek/Swede brought up in London.

If he contributed to Hamas then he belongs on the watchlist.

[Tonio]

I'm still angry at Cat Stevens for selling out Salman Rushdie. He publicly supported Ayatollah Khomeini's death edict against Rushdie for "The Satanic Versus," in effect declaring that artists have no right to speak their minds. I say that freedom of speech is more important than any kind of political or religious orthodoxy.

[vraiblonde]

Originally Posted by Tonio

I say that freedom of speech is more important than any kind of political or religious orthodoxy.

Not me. After Farenheit 9-11, I've about had enough of "free speech" and the people who abuse it.

And I've had enough of messed up "journalists" who write stories about how terrible it is that the US won't let terrorist supporters come into our country. Dur.

[crabcake]

Islam has become a prominent member of the UK Muslim community since abandoning his pop career and changing his name in the 1970s to devote himself to charity work and peace campaigning.

the same kinds of "charity work" as those "charity" groups who had their assets frozen for having ties to terrorist organizations?

[vraiblonde]

Originally Posted by crabcake

the same kinds of "charity work" as those "charity" groups who had their assets frozen for having ties to terrorist organizations?

The Muslim idea of "peacekeeping" is to kill everyone who's not one of them. That's when they think the world will be peaceful.

[Tonio]

Originally Posted by vraiblonde

And I've had enough of messed up "journalists" who write stories about how terrible it is that the US won't let terrorist supporters come into our country. Dur.

Their problem is that they're pushing their own orthodoxy and agenda. Just like any hellfire-and-damnation preacher or any political true believer, they're saying, "We're right and you're wrong." While they have the right to say that, it's hypocritical for them to claim that their judgmentality and self-righteousness is justified in the name of free speech.