Are you familiar with Yusuf Islam? Perhaps you know him as Cat Stevens, the musician who is well known for such songs as Moonshadow, Peace Train, Morning Has Broken, and Another Saturday Night. He is a British singer-songwriter who has sold more than 100 million records, and has more than two billion streams. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
Yusuf Islam was born Steven Demetre Georgiou, and took the stage name Cat Stevens around 1965 at the age of 18. He chose that name because he thought it would be easier to remember than his birth name (and because a girlfriend had told him he had "eyes like a cat).
Islam grew up in a “Christian” home with a Greek Orthodox father and a Swedish Baptist mother. And in his elementary school years, his parents sent him to a Roman Catholic school. So he was raised in a Christian environment. Apparently, though, his family was not really religiously active – in fact, he was not even baptized into the Greek Orthodox church as an infant, which would have been a normal practice.
It seems, though, that he never really connected with the beliefs of either of his parents, and later stated that while growing up he felt disconnected from his religious upbringing. This eventually led him on a spiritual quest beginning at age 19.
During his searching years, Islam explored a variety of philosophies and faiths – Buddhism, Eastern Mysticism, Taoism, Zen, I Ching, Numerology, Tarot Cards, Astrology, and various metaphysical and New Age practices. He even revisited the faith of his Greek Orthodox and Baptist upbringing, but found he was still confused by some of its core tenets – such as the concept of the Trinity. His search for meaning led him to read widely, but he ultimately found the clarity and answers he was looking for when his brother gave him a copy of the Qur'an.
Stevens converted to Islam in December 1977, and adopted the name Yusuf Islam the following year. At that point, he stepped away from his secular music career to focus on his new faith, and sang only music about Islam for nearly three decades. He sold almost all of his musical gear and Cat Stevens memorabilia, and would not make another album with instruments, other than drums, for nearly 30 years, believing that his religion forbade making music.
In 2006, however, he made a return to secular music. About four years before that, Islam’s only son, Muhammad, went to college in London and bought a guitar. Young Muhammad thought his dad would not approve, so he didn’t tell him. However, one day Islam entered Muhammad’s room and saw it. He picked it up, played some chords, then took the guitar for himself and started playing again. At first he created a new record label and was writing and playing Islamic songs. Soon, however, he came to the conclusion that playing secular music was actually not anti-Muslim after all, and stepped once again into the secular arena. He now lives comfortably in both worlds.
My question is, “Why did he leave his Christian upbringing in the first place?” I think the obvious answer is that he never really had a genuine Christian upbringing. He was introduced to church and attended a Roman Catholic school, but in those places all he ever learned about was religion. He was never introduced to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
The story of Yusuf Islam is actually the story of a massive number of people. Many have been raised in a nominal Christian environment where they grew up identifying as a Christian, but it never became personal in the sense that they came to know a personal relationship with Christ. So, as they grew older, they typically went in one of two directions – they either held on to their Christian identity as a cultural identification, or they rejected Christianity altogether. Some of this latter group became Atheists, and others turned to some other religion – as happened with Yusuf Islam.
I recently witnessed something special in the church I attend. A man came and joined the church and shared his story. It seems he had grown up in the church and self-identified as a Christian his whole life. By his own testimony, however, he never knew a personal relationship with Christ. Recently, he came to realize that his self-identification was not actually genuine faith – that he had merely adopted cultural Christianity. Someone, though, shared with him how to know Christ personally, and he actually took the step to invite Christ into his life. By his own testimony it was a spiritually transforming eye-opener.
Self-identifying as a Christian and actually being a Christian are not the same. They are actually based on entirely different worldview platforms. That is the reason it is so critical for people to understand worldview concepts.
Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.
You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.
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