Thursday Oct 5 16:15 AESTThe artist formerly known as Cat...

Thursday Oct 5 16:15 AEST
The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens is set to make a comeback, releasing his first commercial album nearly three decades after he converted to Islam and withdrew from the pop world.

And Yusuf Islam dismisses criticism that returning to the music industry is a betrayal of his Muslim faith.

Islam, who has become a leading voice in the British Muslim community, scored international hits in the 1960s and 1970s with songs like 'Wild World', 'Moonshadow' and 'My Lady d'Arbanville'.

Back then, the part-Greek, part-Swedish singer's telegenic good looks helped him to global stardom as a guitar-playing, post-hippy icon and he enjoyed all the traditional fruits of that success.

But in 1977 he decided to hang up his guitar. After receiving a copy of the Koran, he changed his name and retired from it all, pledging to devote his life to the Islamic faith.

Now, 28 years later, he is coming back — in November he will release An Other Cup, billed by his record label as "as moving and timeless as the classics that inspired a generation".

The 58-year-old confirmed in a recent BBC TV interview that it is indeed a return to his roots. "It's me, so it's going to sound like that of course. This is the real thing," he said.

"When my son brought the guitar back into the house, you know, that was the turning point. It opened a flood of new ideas and music which I think a lot of people would connect with."

In fact, Islam has never stopped making records over the last three decades — it's just that most of them have been spoken word projects on faith-related themes.

At the same time, he has pursued various charity activities, including his own United Nations-registered charity Small Kindness, launched to help the victims of wars in the Balkans in the 1990s, including hundreds of thousands of Muslims.

Married with five children, he has also founded a Muslim school in London.

Islam's former celebrity status helped attract support for his causes but in more recent years, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, he hit the headlines for different reasons.

In September 2004, the plane he was travelling on from London to Washington was diverted to Maine after his name was noticed on the passenger list. It turned out he was mistakenly on a terror suspect "watch list".

Islam remains philosophical about the incident, which he compared to former Beatle John Lennon suffering similar problems under late former president Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War.

"When president Nixon was going through this, you know, unpopular war and there was an election going on and they refused him (Lennon) entry into the United States, so you know you see similarities, but the reason was never given," he said.

"But you know I'm ready to forgive and forget providing I can have a good welcome when I get there."

The bearded singer is also pragmatic about criticism in some quarters over his decision to return to popular music.

In an essay last year on the relationship between music and faith, he noted that "some voices in the Muslim community have been criticising me" because of his resurgent music activities, including re-releasing previous albums.

But he said: "Whilst I agree that some songs and musical influences are haram (prohibited), this judgment does not apply to every singer or every single note and crotchet played.

"The truth is that most of those who buy my records as Cat Stevens are not Muslims. But many who listen to those old songs recognise that they represent the poetic inspiration of a seeker, someone thirsting for peace and trying to understand the unexplained mysteries of life," he added.

He noted that in Iran, an Islamic republic, the authorities "have recently decided that the songs I sang as Cat Stevens provide a good example for youth, to show that there are positive aspects to some music and art".

Islam performed a few songs from his new album to a private audience including former US president Bill Clinton at the Albert Hall in London last week.

The first single from the album will be released in Britain at the start of November, while the album will be launched later in the month to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of his first Cat Stevens album, Matthew and Son.