Time for a sad but true story about Cat Stevens.
Did You Know? (Itโs easy to be hoodwinked.)
Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam) was born Steven Demetre Georgiou on July 21, 1948, in London to a Greek Cypriot father and Swedish mother. He grew up helping in the family restaurant and discovered music as a teen, adopting the stage name Cat Stevens around 1966.
He rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with folk-rock hits, achieving massive success with albums like Tea for the Tillerman (1970) and Teaser and the Firecat (1971). His career was marked by introspection, fameโs pressures, and personal struggles, including a bout with tuberculosis in his early 20s that sidelined him for a time.
The Conversion Story
Stevensโ path to Islam unfolded through a series of near-death experiences and spiritual seeking. In 1975โ1976, while swimming off Malibu, California, he nearly drowned in strong currents. In desperation, he prayed, โOh God! If you save me, Iโll work for you,โ and a wave carried him safely to shore. This deepened his search for meaning.
He explored various faiths (including Buddhism) and received a Quran from his brother. He was particularly struck by the adhan (call to prayer) heard during a trip to Marrakesh and the story of the Prophet Joseph (Yusuf) in the Quran. After studying the text, he formally converted on December 23, 1977, in London, declaring the Shahada at a mosque. He adopted the name Yusuf Islam in 1978โYusuf being the Arabic form of Joseph, a name he already loved.
He largely stepped away from secular pop music for nearly 30 years, viewing some aspects as incompatible with his new faith at the time. He focused on family (he married and had children), education, and humanitarian work, founding charities like Muslim Aid. He later returned to music, including Islamic devotional songs and some secular work under Yusuf/Cat Stevens.
Sound up. โฌ๏ธ