POSTED: 7:57 am EDT September 22, 2004
UPDATED: 8:14 am EDT September 22, 2004
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.
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.
Nico Melendez, a spokesman for Transportation Security Administration, says the identification was made by the Advanced Passenger Information System, which requires airlines to send passenger information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center.
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.
Following a string of hits in the 1960s and '70s, including "Wild World" and "Morning Has Broken," the musician abandoned his career and changed his name after being persuaded by orthodox Muslim teachers that his lifestyle was forbidden by Islamic law. He founded a Muslim school in London in 1983.
Fans of the singer are coming to his defense, after he was denied entry to the U.S.
A statement posted on a fan-supported Web site says Yusuf Islam being on a government watch list "is certainly an error."
The statement also calls it a "sad state of affairs" when "a peace-loving pop star can be grouped into the same category Osama Bin Laden just because of his chosen faith."
Last year, Islam released two songs, including a re-recording of his '70s hit "Peace Train," to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
http://www.nbc10.com...657/detail.html
Perhaps Cat Stevens and US Senator Ted Kennedy were planning something foul.
Also, I love the federal governments subtle hint that it holds no value for the state of Maine. Terrorist landing in D.C.? Unacceptable. Maine? That's fine... that's practically Canada anyway.