Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens(born July 21, 1948) was the stage name of popular singer-songwriter during the 1970s. Born Stephen Demetre Georgiou in London, England, he has since changed his name to Yusuf Islam after having converted to the Muslim religion. His most popular songs included "Peace Train" "Morning Has Broken", "Moon Shadow", "Wild World", and "Father and Song".

His comments in 1989 concerning the Salman Rushdie after the publication of Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses" provoked controversy. He stated at the time that blasphemy against Islam was an offense punishable by death, which led many to believe that he was in favor of killing Rushdie. He has since said that his views were misstated. What he believed was that a death sentence can only be carried out by the authority of a court in an Islamic society, but that he also favored the rule of law and that he is opposed to anyone taking the law into their own hands by murdering Rushdie.