Yusuf Islam. Photograph: PA
Poor old Yusuf Islam. The Artist Formerly Known as Cat Stevens has long been at pains to distance himself from Islamist violence, but that didn't stop American security chiefs blocking his entry to the Land of the Free last night for reasons of "national security".
Cat/Yusuf is widely regarded to be moderate in his views, and his efforts at bridge-building have earned the respect of no less a threat to national security than Tony Blair. Britain's Muslims have reacted with understandable horror to his treatment at the hands of the Americans.
So how do we explain it? Perhaps it's Stevens' recent forays back into pop music that prompted the US to slam the door shut. For example, check out the lyrics to Peace Train: "Oh I've been smiling lately / Thinking about the world as one / And I believe it could be, /Some day it's going to come."
On the face of it, a hippy-drippy rewrite of Imagine. Or is it? Might it not be interpreted as blatant propaganda for Osama bin Laden's vision of a greater Islamic Nation?
What next? Are they going to ban Donovan? Hmm. Maybe that's not such a bad idea …
