I've been crying lately thinking about the world as it is.

[KamaAina]

49. Cat Stevens? Don't you know he's a evul Mooslim terraist?!

He actually did convert to Islam, changed his name to Yusuf Islam -- and was barred from entering the U.S. shortly after Nineleven(TM)!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens#Denial_of_entry_into_the_United_States

On 21 September 2004, Yusuf was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington, travelling to a meeting with U.S. entertainer Dolly Parton, who had recorded "Peace Train" several years earlier and was planning to include another Cat Stevens song on an upcoming album. While the plane was in flight, his name was flagged as being on the No Fly List. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers alerted the United States Transportation Security Administration, which then diverted his flight to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained by officers from the Department of Homeland Security.

The following day, Yusuf was denied entry and flown back to the United Kingdom. A spokesman for Homeland Security claimed there were "concerns of ties he may have to potential terrorist-related activities". The Israeli government had deported Yusuf in 2000 over allegations that he provided funding to the Palestinian organisation Hamas, but he denied doing so knowingly.[79] Yusuf, who repeatedly has condemned terrorism and Islamic extremism, stated "I have never knowingly supported or given money to Hamas".[80] "At the time I was reported to have done it, I didn't know such a group existed. Some people give a political interpretation to charity. We were horrified at how people were suffering in the Holy Land."

However, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added him to a "watch list". The removal provoked an international controversy and led British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to complain personally to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations. Powell responded by stating that the watchlist was under review, adding, "I think we have that obligation to review these matters to see if we are right".

Yusuf believed his inclusion on a "watch list" may have simply been an error: a mistaken identification of him for a man with the same name, but different spelling. On 1 October 2004 he requested the removal of his name, "I remain bewildered by the decision of the U.S. authorities to refuse me entry to the United States". According to a statement by Yusuf, the man on the list was named "Youssef Islam", indicating that Yusuf was not the suspected terrorism supporter. Romanization of Arabic names can easily result in different spellings: the transliteration of the Islamic name for Joseph (Yusuf's chosen name) lists a dozen spellings.