Yusuf Islam, formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens, was denied entry into the United States today by American authorities. Islam was aboard United Airlines flight 919 from London to Washington DC. When Islam’s name came up on a US security “watch list”, the plane was diverted to Bangor, Maine where officials questioned the former pop star and denied him entry to the United States on security grounds. No further explanation was given. It was expected that Islam would be on the next available plane out of the US on Wednesday.

Stevens, whose 1970s hits included “Morning Has Broken,” “Wild World” and “Peace Train” stopped making pop music shortly after adopting the Muslim faith in 1977. Since then, he has opened a Muslim school in London and been actively involved in the Islamic community in England.

Islam’s political views have caused controversy before. In the late 80s, he supported Iranian dictator Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa against writer Salman Rushdie, author of the book, “The Satanic Verses” which many Muslims felt was blasphemous. Khomeini encouraged his followers to kill the author for his writings and Rushdie had to go into hiding.

Islam also has courted controversy for supporting Hamas, an Islamic fundamentalist group based in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist acts including suicide bombings inside Israel. Hamas is on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations and American officials have attempted to stop Americans from sending money to Hamas in the guise of charity.

On his website, Yusuf Islam has condemned the killing of innocent civilians including the attacks on the World Trade Center and the recent hostage taking at a Russian school by Chechen guerillas earlier this month, stating they are “directly contradictory to the peaceful teachings of Islam.”

Stevens recently released his first pop recording in over 20 years, a remake of his hit “Peace Train” in opposition to the US war in Iraq.