Peace Train

There was some talk among some folks I know today about Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens, being booted off a plane as a security risk.

I look at it this way:
There's no question that many of the security measures being taken south of the border, and elsewhere, are extreme, if not racist.

But strictly speaking, a public figure (Yusuf Islam) who publicly lent his voice to an extremely incendiary, globe-wide fatwah (sp?) against a noted author IS a security risk, whether he recanted or not. What's to say he won't recant on his recant?

Genuine as his regret may be, he committed his verbal hate crime, the whole world heard him, and the consequences don't just go away with the words "I'm sorry."

I'd hate to be pulled off an airplane just because of my name. But if my name were Yusuf Islam, (aka Cat Stevens), I wouldn't be surprised. Salman Rushdie didn't dare get on a plane for a long time, and is surely still a target for some wacko. Perhaps sharing his circumstances to this extent will solidify Mr. Islam's regret.

It's a bummer, but it's something he must have expected to have happen at some point.