YUSUF ISLAM - YUSUF ISLAM 'APPALLED' AT RUSHDIE MISUNDERSTANDING

YUSUF ISLAM, the artist formerly known as CAT STEVENS, was "appalled" when newspapers accused him of calling for SALMAN RUSHDIE's head on a platter. Newspapers linked the singer to a Fatwa proclaimed after Rushdie committed blasphemy in his 1989 novel THE SATANIC VERSES. But Islam insists he merely questioned Islamic law. The 58-year-old says, "I never supported the Fatwa. "At a lecture back in 1989, I was asked a question about blasphemy according to Islamic law. I simply repeated the legal view according to my limited knowledge of the scriptural texts, based directly on the historical commentaries of the Koran (which states that blasphemy is a capital offence). "The next day, newspaper headlines read: 'Cat Says Kill Rushdie'. I was appalled."