a) am not a particularly big fan of Yusuf Islam (I have enjoyed the two Salman Rushdies novels I have read). b) am not a big fan of the hateful act of pronouncing "fatwa" on anyone.
This does prove how incredibly hard false media information is to correct (when it fits people's prejudices) and how subtlety and accuracy are completely lost arts.
OK, Mr. Cole only asserts that Mr. Islam endorsed Khomeni's "fatwa". He offers no evidence. He does offer some indication (including, thankfully, a quote) that gives some evidence that Yusuf Islam did not immediately condemn the "fatwa" AND that he believed that Mr. Rushdie committed heresy. None of this excuses the actions of Yusuf Islam and his judgemental attitude toward Rushdie; but none of this rebuts his insistence that he NEVER "endorsed" the fatwa. None of this counters that Yusuf Islam, over time admittedly, strongly spoke AGAINST the fatwa (unlike the majority of actual "fatwa" supporters).
The only reason people bring this up is because of vicious and ugly prejudice against Muslims. This is the whole reason the Brit tabloid fabricated the story in the beginning (all the people actually supporting the "fatwa" were too far away or unknown to sell any papers, so lets make up something about the one Muslim people have actually heard of) and why so many people continue to believe it (it apparently "sounds right" to them, facts be damned). The fact is, there a lot hateful, militant and reactionary Muslims--but scapegoating one guy who tries to keep a low profile and do small positive things for his community--only aids the cause of ignorance and intolerance.
This whole "he deserves it" angle is sickening particularly when "Christian" commentators can rhetorically smite whole classes of people with impugnity with hardly an eyebrow raised by the unsmoten.
Jim
"If you want to sing out, sing out
If you want to be free, be free
Because there's a million things to be
And you know that there are."
--Cat Stevens
> >http://www.juancole.com/2004_09_01_juancole_archive.html#109592379002363404
> >Thursday, September 23, 2004
> >Cat Stevens Deported
> <snip>
> >But I have a hard time rushing to Yusuf Islam's defense because I
> >never forgave him for advocating the execution of Salman Rushdie in
> >1989. He endorsed Khomeini's "fatwa" or death edict against Rushdie
> >for the novel, Satanic Verses. He later explained this position away
> >by saying that he did not endorse vigilante action against Rushdie,
> >but would rather want the verdict to be carried out by a proper
> >court. These are weasel words. . . .