an interview with him a while AFTER that flap, and either he'd changed his tune, or he was misquoted or misunderstood in the first instance (I cannot determine which myself)
His claim was that the original question was loaded in a certain way, and he was cornered to respond as he did.
I'm hazy on details, so don't go by me.
Did anyone else see the retracting/clarifying interview? its been several years. I think it might even have been 60 minuts.
ok, I just did a google search and found this:
http://www.superseventies.com/sscatstevens.htmlwhich seems to fit my recollection, that he CLAIMS to have been quoted out of context...
"The Koran makes it clear, if someone defames the Prophet, then he must die. The backlash over reports that I'd supposedly endorsed the death sentence that Islamic fundamentalists had levied against Salmon Rushdie for the alleged blasphemy of The Satanic Verses hurt quite a lot because that whole episode was taken out of context. But it was merely a reiteration of scriptural principle, not a literal call to action. And there are elements within the press who really have no loyalty to anybody except a good headline. If you were to ask somebody, 'What does the Bible say about adultery?' they would have to quote chapter and verse -- that's the honest thing to do. And you'd find bits in the Bible that say you should stone the person. Now, that means the President of the United States is eligible for stoning. That doesn't mean anybody's gonna do that!"