The artist Yusuf Islam, or Cat Stevens, who left his mark on the 1960s and 1970s with his albums and chose to become a Muslim in 1977, is undoubtedly a special name for many of us. Those who loved and followed him knew that he would give a concert in Turkey for the first time within the scope of Beyoğlu (October 19, 2022) and the Capital Culture Road Festival (October 23, 2022) organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. One evening last week, Ayşe Olgun called me and asked, “Would you like to have an interview with Yusuf Islam?” she asked. Is it possible to refuse this offer? The next day, I went to Yusuf Islam, who came to Istanbul with the record of his album “Catch Bull at Four” (in case I could get it signed). He greeted me with a smile, along with his entire family. Yusuf Islam, who answered my questions with his dervish spirit, humble manner and with all his sincerity, talked about the special bond he established with Turkey, the theme of the concerts, and the Peace Train, a charity organization. At the end of the interview, I should add that I had my record signed, with a very nice note: “With peace for all and love.”
– I think you have a very special place for people of all age groups in Turkey. On the basis of this special bond between you and the people of this country what do you think?
I have always listened to my heart. I guess it’s about listening to your heart. My songs that I made before I became a Muslim also established a bond with people around the world and in Turkey. After becoming a Muslim, a much closer and more beautiful bond formed between us, and it brought us closer. It’s a very good feeling, I feel very welcome here. Of course, you know, I come from a Greek Cypriot family originally. I guess that’s why I always felt we had a close relationship.
I DESTROYED PREJUDICES
– Is there Islamic culture or music under the special bond you have established with people?
I think it’s just a human thing. Some people view Islam as something scary and dangerous. In reality, however, our religion is humanitarian. When you grasp the basic foundations of being human, you realize that it encompasses everything. So there’s a problem with some people having a pretty narrow perspective. Honestly, when someone breaks through the walls of prejudice and overcomes difficulties, it resonates with people. I think it’s because of the wonderful connection I have with my fans. Because I was brave enough to walk through a door and become a Muslim.
WE WANT TO FIT THE Hungry and SPREAD PEACE
– The income of your concerts in Turkey will go to the “Peace Train” (Peace Train), a charity you organize. You also have a children’s book contributed by Ketebe Publishing. Can you tell us a little bit about the “Peace Train”?
Peace represents a symbolic ideal. Like many ideals, it unfortunately remains in the world of fiction. Because you know that finding peace is not easy. But I continue to work in this direction. We started with food aid, which is a very simple, basic humanitarian need for the Peace Train. You know, there are many charities and they are doing very well. But we wanted to follow the path of our Prophet (saas), who said that the best we can do is to treat people well, feed the hungry and spread peace; That’s what we do on the Peace Train.
BEATLES WAS LIKE A REVOLUTION
– I came here today with a record in my hand. Along the way, I saw young people with various earphones like AirPods in their ears. For a long time, I thought that the new world youth has a different relationship with music than we do. What I saw reminded me of that again. How do you find the view of the new world youth towards music? Do you think the music is for them and for us? Is it still as important as it was in your generation?
Today, music has become digital and is in a digital flow… In this sense, music has lost its feature of being the reformer of society. When I started making music, music was a tool for breaking taboos and breaking prohibitions. That’s exactly why the arrival and rise of the Beatles was revolutionary. I also wanted to be a part of this revolution. Today, unfortunately, much of this revolution has been taken over by the corporate industry. Music still has an important place in everyone’s life. But I think that robotic music, which has become widespread now, is more dangerous than the old musical spirit.
– When I was little, my grandmother and mother used to tell me that we actually look for the voice of God in every beautiful music, that’s why we love beautiful music and it is pleasing to our souls. We are looking for the sound of “be” that he said when he created us… Do you think that music has such a meaning?
Music is a very mysterious phenomenon. For example, in concerts, music brings people together, they suddenly become one body. This combination can be through a melody that brings people’s hearts closer, or through a message that brings people’s ideas and thoughts together. In other words, music has a great unifying power and you know that unity is also present in our beginnings. Undoubtedly, Allah is one. If you really want to hear about Allah, which I don’t want to say polemically speaking, you know that Allah likes to hear the recitation of the Qur’an. Allah loves His Prophet (saas) to recite the Qur’an. The recitation of the Qur’an leaves an extraordinary effect. This sound can even change our lives.
Yusuf Islam
IF WE EXIST, THE MUSIC MUST BE
– This question may seem like an individual question, but its answer will be valuable and meaningful to our own stories. After you became a Muslim, you left your guitar for a while, but years later you returned to music. How do you see your decision to quit your guitar today? Do you regret it or was this one of the ways that took you from one place to another in your whole story?
In the beginning, the most important thing for me was to seek answers to the great questions of life and the universe. My songs they didn’t exactly help me find these answers, but they still guided me. Or let me put it this way, the most important discovery for me was the message of Islam and the Qur’an, so I became less interested in music. Of course, there were also doubts about the place of music in Islamic life and culture. At that time, the dominant and narrow perspectives of the Arab countries on this issue were effective. I didn’t want to do anything wrong either and was trying to be very careful. However, later on, I saw that these restrictive views about music have different dimensions and that culture is also effective in this regard. I began to better understand the views of our Prophet (saas) regarding music. When my doubts were cleared, I turned to music again, I started working, if we should be, music should be too. My doubts disappeared because these perspectives were not precise and I realized that what was right according to their culture was not really important. However, I also think that those who think the opposite are right. That’s why I started working again. I was able to explore more freely and write new songs as I wrote before.
New and old together
– You will be a guest of the Culture Road Festivals organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In this context, you will perform at AKM on Beyoğlu Culture Road on October 19, and at CSO Ada Ankara on October 23 on Başkent Kültür Yolu. Do these concerts have a special theme?
This will be my first concert in Turkey. I will sing my songs here for the first time. This is very exciting. I hope everyone really likes what I do. New and old works will be together. So there will be some surprises as well as familiar songs.
I’m not just someone who makes religious music
-My new album will be out soon. I think people will love the songs on this album. It has beautiful melodies and messages. I even wrote a song about Jesus, son of Mary. We Muslims, all the prophets and Hz. We want to teach that Jesus is also our prophet. Such connections are very important so that people do not feel a disconnect between other religions and Islam.
By the way, there are different genres on the album; There is also a strong rock song. I’ve included many different genres and I’m not just a religious musician, this was a pretty broad album.
