YUSUF ISLAM - YUSUF ISLAM 'APPALLED' AT RUSHDIE MISUNDERSTANDING

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."