Cat Stevens: Terrorist

Okay, the Cat went whacko back when Salman Rushdie was on the Ayatollah's hit list, if the reports were true, but Cat fans went whacko-er. Piled up all their Cat Stevens albums and bulldozed 'em. What? Did the music stop being good? Whatever the man does now, his musical history is unassailable. So don't be stupid.

And, besides, now we have the terrorist police collecting anyone whose beliefs are considered objectionable, whether they commit any terrorist act or not. Welcome to the new police state.

U.S. officials detained singer Cat Stevens on Tuesday and will return him to Great Britain today, because he is now listed on an official terrorist "watch list."

Federal officials say a plane bound for Washington from London was diverted to Maine because passenger Yusuf Islam -- formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens -- showed up on the U.S. watch list.

The flight had already taken off when the match was made between the passenger and the watch list. That's according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The plane was met by federal agents at Maine's Bangor International Airport, where sources say Islam was questioned by the FBI and Immigration officials.

...Islam is a peace activist who has criticized the war in Iraq.

He has also criticized terrorist acts by Muslims, including the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the deadly school seizure early this month in Beslan, Russia.

...A Homeland Security spokesman says Islam will be put on the first available flight out the country.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy identified the passenger as Islam. "He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds,'' Murphy said.

Feel safer now that Cat Stevens has been captured?

Longer boats are comin' to win us
Hold on to the shore
They'll be takin' the key from the door