U.S. Muslims React to Exclusion of Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)

Islam, the former pop singer Cat Stevens, was removed from a plane bound for Washington from London Tuesday when his name showed up on a U.S. watch list. The plane was diverted to Maine's Bangor International Airport. A department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman said Islam was denied admission to the United States "on national security grounds." Islam, who recently spoke out against the massacre of more than 300 people in a Russian school, will be returned to England on Wednesday.

SEE: "The Former Cat Stevens Gets Plane Diverted" http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4506026,00.html

"When internationally-respected Islamic personalities like Yusuf Islam and Professor Tariq Ramadan are denied entry to the United States, it sends the disturbing message that even moderate and mainstream Muslims will now be treated like terrorists," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.

DHS officials recently revoked the visa of Tariq Ramadan, an Islamic scholar who was due to begin teaching at the University of Notre Dame.

SEE: "Muslim Scholar Barred from US Preaches Tolerance" http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0921/p16s02-bogn.html

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 29 regional offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.

CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: cair [at] cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed [at] cair-net.org

NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist's window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called ISLAM-INFONET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.

To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/

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WHAT: CAIR Reacts to Exclusion of Yusuf Islam from U.S.
WHEN: Noon, Wednesday, September 22, 2004
WHERE: CAIR's Capitol Hill Headquarters, 453 New Jersey Avenue S.E.,
Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787,
202-744-7726