Yes, I definitely do too. I love the passion in Cat’s voice, but I do think Yoriyos’ voice is quite good and very calming.

I read somewhere that “Yoriyos” translates to “Georgiou” (Cat’s birth surname) but I have no idea whether this is true or not.

Thanks for letting me know your opinion.

Take care,
Missy

Did you check out the “myspace” link for Yusuf’s son yet? I think you might like his songs. There are three complete songs up on the site for play and I think they are quite good. The album comes out this month. I’d love to know what you think of the songs.

Take care,
Missy

Hi Missy–

I did check out his site.  I think he does have a nice voice, but I like his dad’s better.

Cheers–

MRE 

I really wish everyone could forgive and forget the Rushdie incident finally. Yusuf has paid his debt for that mess many times over. That was 18 long years ago and Yusuf has done so much good supporting children in Bosnia and other countries, not to mention the many other humanitarian causes he has supported with time and money. That the Rushdie incident has branded a good, kind man all these years is a horrible shame and really completely unfair. If everything we had ever said in our life was remembered forever and talked about on the internet none of us would come away unscathed.

It looks as if Yusuf and his wife have brought up a great son. That should speak volumes for Yusuf’s character. Here’s a link. He has got a lovely voice, imho. Click the links to his website, also.

Take care,
Missy

Hi Missy–

I agree that Yusuf has comported himself well since the Rushdie incident.  But the Rushdie incident was not something thrust upon him; he, himself, made the vitriolic statements, which, in my opinion, provided a window into his true heart at the time.

I’m willing to accept that he has grown since then, but it would be nice if he were to issue an apology.

Cheers–

MRE 

But maybe he didn’t trust the magazine’s editors to edit and distort his replies. Wouldn’t blame him, look at the bad press Robert Atkins got!

Hi Neil–

Your suggested answer is a good one.  I’m sure he suffers from the once-burned-twice-shy syndrome, so is reluctant to say much of anything for fear of being misquoted.  But I still harken back to his pronouncements on Rushdie…

Cheers–

MRE 

“We can’t look at this situation from just our point of view because no matter how much we want Yusuf to say what we want to hear, AND NO MATTER HOW MUCH HE WOULD LIKE TO SAY IT, we have to put ourselves in his place and realize that he is in a very difficult position.” No matter what he says in answer to those types of questions, someone or some group of people will not find his answer to their liking. I think that is why he has decided to refuse to answer those types of questions in interviews. He has been burned so many times in interviews that he has an “once bitten, twice shy” attitude now. At his core I think he is a great person with no hidden agenda.

I think he probably is a great person.  I do think his hidden agenda (if you could call it that) is to not get crossways with his religion irrespective of his own feelings.  Then, again, I think back to his pronouncements on Salman Rushdie…

Cheers–

MRE 

Thanks for your answer to my post. I do see where you are coming from, but I think the interview was about the music more than politics. I don’t think the intention was to put Yusuf on the spot in that interview. It was more of a conversational type interview.

We can’t look a this situation from just our point of view because no matter how much we want Yusuf to say what we want to hear, we have to put ourselves in his place and realize that he is in a very difficult position. No matter what he says in answer to those types of questions, someone or some group of people will not find his answer to their liking. I think that is why he has decided to refuse to answer those types of questions in interviews. He has been burned so many times in interviews that he has an “once bitten, twice shy” attitude now. At his core I think he is a great person with no hidden agenda.

Here is a link to a video of Yusuf being interviewed on Canadian TV. They did a shorter spot on TV and put this uncut version on the web. The camera work is a bit shaky, and the lighting isn’t great, but it is an interesting interview.

http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1264

He did some other radio shows. I think the interviewer on WFUV said it was the only one on a NYC radio station. He did a concert for around 400 invited guests (vip’s mostly- Chris Blackwell, for one, was there) which was broadcast with interview on a CA public radio station, and another radio interview in Philidelphia. Maybe others.

Did you know that Yusuf played at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway last December. Alun Davies, his old friend and guitarist who was always seated next to Cat in concert, was there with him. Also, Alun came to New York with Yusuf. Wonderful to see those two back together again. Check out youtube for the videos.

Take care,
Missy

Hi Missy–

Thanks for the links.  I can see that you are a real fan, as am I, although probably not as big a fan as you.

I understand your point and you’re probably right.  I have nothing against Yusuf–I think he’s probably doing wonderful things with his money and time.   My problem is with chosen religion that would make him fear to speak out without fear of reprisal.  I can totally understand his reluctance to be forthright, but when you’re a staunch supporter of a religion whose members actually kill people over a cartoon, then I think you would have to ask yourself if that religion truly is one that promotes peace.

Best–

MRE

Moderates of all religions, he contends, are simply not prepared to deal with the extremism of those willing to go all the way with the logical conclusion of the major faiths. Both Christianity and Islam consider themselves the only true faiths, and therefore, all other religions must be eradicated. Yusuf, whether threatened or not, can’t bring himself to offer some answer that deals with the extremism of his own faith, let alone Hamas. Saying that you are for peace and against violence doesn’t cover it as it is too general. Any agnostic or atheist can say the same thing. The specific problems with one’s own faith are not addressed.

Thought you might be interested in this interview which was conducted while Yusuf was here in the US in December. This is not a sound-bite interview like Deborah Solomon’s interview. It is very interesting and it is much easier to understand where someone is coming from when you can listen to them, instead of reading an interview.

I don’t like Deborah Solomon’s style of interview, as she just asks 10 questions, wants sound-bite answers, and generally seems to want her interviewees to look bad.

Have you heard the new album? There are three songs played in the interview. It is a beautiful album.

http://www.wfuv.org/wfuv/archive/index.html

At the top where it says search archive, put in “Yusuf”. Click on Yusuf (in red) and the interview will start playing.

btw, I’ve read that Yusuf is Sunni.

Hi Missy–

Listened to the interview and listened to the music.  The music was wonderful.  The interview was not what I would call penetrating.  The interviewer was extremely sympathetic, lobbed him softball questions, and never followed up.  For example, there are many Yusuf Islam quotes on record where he has denigrated Salman Rushdie for his portrayal of a fictional character in a book that Muslims think is blasphemous.  I’ve read the quotes, and they’re pretty vile.  This interviewer says to him as he is droning on about how much he loves peace something along the lines of: Peace loving guy that you are, it must really hurt you when people come out saying all these awful things about you like they did over the Salman Rushdie affair.  Yusuf responds: Yes, it was very hurtful.  Then it’s on to the next question.  Why not ask: What really happened?  At the time people were saying you wanted to see Rushdie killed.  If he answers that no, I didn’t feel that way.  Then she comes back with, here is a statement you made on Dec 15, 1988 where you said blah blah blah.  How do you reconcile that with what you’re telling me now?  Those kinds of probing questions.  The interviewer made much of the fact in her introduction to the interview that hers was the ONLY radio interview Yusuf had given during his last trip to the States.  It’s easy to see why.

I’m delighted he’s back to performing because I love his stuff, including the three I heard on this interview.  But I still have my doubts as to what he believes at his real core.

Best–

MRE 

Not only was there condemnation; people actually died over that fiasco. Fathers, brothers, uncles are not here any longer because people got pissed over a cartoon.

I suppose having an ethnic as well as a religious connection makes it ever so slightly better … hmmm, not so sure about that.

Cheers,

Malcolm

Maybe so.  I need to be careful.  The bizarre thing was that I couldn’t find it on my site.  When I went to the site (and I even checked it on another computer) it wasn’t there under comments.  It was only in my software sitting there quietly awaiting moderation.

Strange.

Maybe the Mossad, CIA, ASIO,  MI6, etc. all couldn’t wait to see your answer so they sent it on to you. 

Not only did I not want to get drawn into the debate, I certainly didn’t want to get enmeshed in international intrigue, and look at me now. 

Cheers–

MRE