Editing Cat Stevens (section)

=====Lawsuit about allegations that he would not talk to unveiled women=====
On 18 July 2008, Islam received substantial undisclosed damages from the [[World Entertainment News Network]] following their publication of a story which claimed that the singer refused to speak to unveiled women.<ref name="Reuters veil">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL1888341620080718?sp=true|title=Yusuf Islam wins damages for "veiled women" slur|work=Reuters|date=18 July 2008|access-date=7 October 2008}}</ref> The allegations first surfaced in the German newspaper [[B.Z. (newspaper)|BZ]] after Islam's trip to Berlin in March 2007 to collect the [[Echo (music award)|Echo music award]] for "life achievements as musician and ambassador between cultures".<ref name="Marot">{{cite news|url=http://www.pr-inside.com/yusuf-islam-s-manager-refutes-veil-allegations-r83327.htm|title=Yusuf Islam's Manager Refutes 'Veil' Allegations|publisher=PR Inside|author=Marot, Marc|date=2 April 2007|access-date=7 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017171626/http://www.pr-inside.com/yusuf-islam-s-manager-refutes-veil-allegations-r83327.htm|archive-date=17 October 2008}}</ref> Once again he was awarded damages after the World Entertainment News Network allowed an article to be published on [[Contactmusic.com]] alleging that he would not speak to unveiled women with the exception of his wife. His solicitor said "he was made out to be 'so sexist and bigoted that he refused at an awards ceremony to speak to or even acknowledge any women who were not wearing a veil{{'"}}.<ref name="Reuters veil" /><ref name="BBC veil">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7513574.stm |title= Cat Stevens accepts libel damages|publisher=BBC|date=18 July 2008|access-date=7 October 2008}}</ref> The news agency apologised and issued a statement saying that Islam has never had any problem in working with women and that he has never required a third party to function as an intermediary at work.<ref name="Marot" /> The money from this lawsuit went to his ''Small Kindness'' Charity.<ref name="Reuters veil" />

On his website, he discussed the false allegation, saying,
{{blockquote|The accusation that I do not speak or interact with ladies who are not veiled is an absurdity.... It's true that I have asked my manager to respectfully request that lady presenters refrain from embracing me when giving awards or during public appearances, but that has nothing to do with my feelings or respect for them. Islam simply requires me to honour the dignity of ladies or young girls who are not closely related to me, and avoid physical intimacy, however innocent it may be.<br />
... My four daughters all follow the basic wearing of clothes which modestly cover their God-given beauty. They're extremely well educated; they do not cover their faces and interact perfectly well with friends and society.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yusufislam.com/faq/8f2e6db2c94070284e3409cd2774d901/ |title=He won't talk to unveiled women, right? |work=Chinese Whiskers FAQs |publisher=YusufIslam.com |access-date=11 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017222547/http://www.yusufislam.com/faq/8f2e6db2c94070284e3409cd2774d901/ |archive-date=17 October 2013 }}</ref>}}