Stupid, So Stupid

So apparently Cat Stevens is such a dangerous man it's necessary to divert his plane so his feet never touch American soil.

Granted, Yusuf didn't win any points from me by supporting Khomeini's fatwa against Salman Rushdie. That was stupid and awful, and anyone willing to accept the idea of putting someone to death for what they write, whether the edict comes from the state, or from religious leaders, or both, is a colossal fool. But this doesn't mean he's a danger to anyone- just a man of poor judgment.

But REALLY. Did they think the guy who sang "Peace Train" and "Morning is Broken" was gonna strap on a suicide belt? It's absurd. We are walking down the wrong road in this country when we won't let aging Muslim folkies in. What are they going to do next- strip-search Muhammad Ali?

PS: A watchlist seems like something that can be abused. This looks like one of those times. I worry that abuses might not be limited to the arbitrary mistreatment of musicians. I worry that if Yusuf Islam's name can show up on one of these lists, perhaps the names of Bush opponents' names could find their way there just as easily. And that wouldn't be just stupid, it would be UnAmerican.

UPDATE- A number of bloggers, including Juan Cole, have expressed the opinion that, because of Yusuf Islam's personal statement in support of Khomeini's fatwa, he deserves no better. I'm not sure I agree with this. I consider Islam's statement the product of recklessness and poor judgment rather than any malice. I honestly can't say if Islam's statement made Rushdie's murder any more likely. If it did, then Islam certainly deserves far worse than being kept out of this country. But nevermind this. I think this question is beside the point. The point, to me, is that, while I regard Cat Stevens as a fool and a person of poor judgment, there's nothing that convinces me that he would be a danger to US national security. My main concern, then, is that this watchlist has been abused and could be further abused in the future. Not cool.