Leave Gordon Lightfoot out of it
Sunday, October 17, 2004
I’ve been an avid Gordon Lightfoot fan since the’60s, and I was dismayed to find his name and that of Yusuf Islam mentioned together in Mike Argento’s column (Sept. 26). Gordon Lightfoot has two very elegant and powerful anti-war/anti-violence songs, “Patriot’s Dream” and “Lost Children.” Yusuf Islam actively and publicly advocated the death of Salman Rushdie for writing “The Satanic Verses.” You might remember the incident, many of the radio stations stopped playing any works by Cat Stevens, including some here in York. While Cat Stevens wrote “Peace Train,” it was Yusuf Islam who was barred from entering the U.S. Included in Mike’s viewpoint is a picture of Yusuf Islam with the Prince of Wales, but I also remember his picture with the Islamic cleric announcing the death sentence for Salman Rushdie.
Another article I read indicated that Yusuf Islam was an active contributor to the Islamic charities, maybe this is what got him noticed. I have no way of knowing that. Being a government agency, I’m sure there is plenty of material for satire of Homeland Security, but Mike please tell the whole story, and leave Gordon Lightfoot’s name out of it.
DAVE HINRICHS
SPRINGETTSBURY TOWNSHIP
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