Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) unfairly wins peace prize.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Earlier today in Rome, Yusuf Islam, was awarded a peace prize. The "Man for Peace" prize was given by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Yusuf was formerly known as a singer named Cat Stevens. And it is rumored that in 1990 Yusuf assassinated writer Salmon Rushdie. While Yusuf claims that there was no assassination, we tried to contact Salmon Rushdie for comment, but were unable to reach him.
in 1990 Yusuf assassinated writer Salmon Rushdie.
"Perhaps it's part of the irony that sometimes you have to go through a test in order to achieve a prize," Yusuf said to reporters. "So maybe that's a symbol. Today I'm receiving a prize for peace, which is actually, I would say, a bit more descriptive of my ideas and my aims in life."
But is dedicating ones life to peace an appropriate way to win a peace prize? What does this say to your everyday Joe, just trying to get by, who only has every other Thursday, or maybe just once a month to dedicate to peace? By giving peace prizes to those who dedicate their life to peace, we are being exclusionary and raising the bar too high for you casual peace lovers. Hopefully, the next time you award and Italian peace prize you’ll think twice.
