From AP (with thanks to Mrs. Obelix).
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev honored the singer once known as Cat Stevens with a peace prize on Wednesday, praising him for charity work and for standing by his convictions despite personal hardships.
Yusuf Islam was awarded the “Man for Peace” award in Rome at the opening of a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. He last made headlines in September, when he turned up on Washington’s no-fly list for having suspected ties to terrorists “” a claim he has strongly denied.
Cat Stevens’s past has been airbrushed out of the story with a diligence worthy of Stalin.