Cat Stevens Starts Legal Action Against U.S. Ban

"We have now initiated a legal process to try to find out exactly what is going on, and to take all necessary steps to undo the very serious, and wholly unfounded, injustice which I have suffered," the ex-singer, now known as Yusuf Islam, said in a statement.

Islam, 57, who temporarily left the music scene in the late 1970s when he became a Muslim, arrived back in London on Thursday after being summarily removed from the United States, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).

He had been traveling to Washington on Tuesday when his flight was diverted to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained on "national security grounds", according to U.S. security officials.

"Half of me wants to smile, and half of me wants to growl. The whole thing is totally ridiculous," said Islam when he arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport, reports the Associated Press (AP).

"Everybody knows who I am. I am no secret figure. Everybody knows my campaigning for charity, for peace. There's got to be a whole lot of explanation."

Islam told reporters in London that he was bound for Nashville, Tenn., "to initiate some recordings and suddenly we were forced to land and I was being interrogated by officers."

Asa Hutchinson, the Department of Homeland Security's Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security, refused later to say what allegations had been made against Islam.

He stressed the action was taken due to "a connection to some type of terrorist activity".

Homeland Security spokesman Brian Doyle said Islam had been denied entry because of "activities that could be potentially linked to terrorism."

He said Wednesday the intelligence community had recently obtained information that "further heightens concern" about Islam.

In his statement, Islam said: "The amazing thing is that I was not given, and have still not been given, any explanation whatsoever as to what it is I am accused of, or why I am now deemed an apparent security threat - let alone given an opportunity to respond to these allegations.

"I was simply told that the order had come from on high."

He said he was particularly upset at being separated from his adult daughter, who was traveling with him and was allowed to enter the United States.

"And since my phone was confiscated I couldn't contact my family [nor could they ring me] and they were relegated to watching the whole frightening episode on TV and surviving on scraps of information shown by the media," Islam said.

Islam was denied entry to Israel in 2000 over suspicions that he had given money to the Palestinian group Hamas, but has consistently condemned terrorism and denied supporting it.

The former pop star described his deportation as a "dark episode".

"Never would I believe that such a thing could happen in the land of the free - unfortunately, it did," he said, using a name for the United States taken from its national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner".

Islam said he thought the alert could even have been a mistake.

"My interrogators repeatedly wanted to know how my name was spelt; it sounded to me as though they had it mixed up with someone else's," he said.

Islam said he was treated well by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and U.S. officials, reports the AP.

"The one positive thing I can say is that a lot security officers are pleased because they got my autograph," he said. "People make mistakes. I just hope they made a big mistake. We'll see."

Islam said he was "a man of peace" who denounced all terrorism, adding: "It is simply outrageous for the U.S. authorities to suggest otherwise."

The deportation angered Muslims in Britain and the United States. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw raised the issue with Secretary of State Colin Powell in person at the United Nations, reports Reuters news agency.

Straw complained to Powell "that this action should not have been taken," the Foreign Office said. It was unclear whether Straw was referring to Islam's detention or his inclusion on the watch list, reports the AP.

Since embracing the religion, Islam has been a vocal campaigner for faith-based Islamic schools in Britain, during which he has met the likes of Prime Minister Tony Blair and heir to the British throne Prince Charles.

During a visit in May to the U.S., he met with officials of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, "to talk about philanthropic work," according to White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan.

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