Editing Cat Stevens (section)

=====2006–2008: ''An Other Cup'' and appearances=====
In March 2006, Islam finished recording his first all-new pop album since 1978.<ref name="billboard1">{{cite magazine|url=http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002199215|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060405132936/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002199215|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 April 2006|title=A cat in a wild world|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=17 March 2006|first=Melinda|last=Newman|access-date=9 June 2006}}</ref> The album, ''[[An Other Cup]]'', was released internationally in November 2006 on his own label, Ya Records (distributed by [[Polydor Records]] in the UK, and internationally by [[Atlantic Records]])—the 40th anniversary of his first album, ''[[Matthew and Son (album)|Matthew and Son]]''. An accompanying single, called "Heaven/Where True Love Goes", was also released. The album was produced with [[Rick Nowels]], who has worked with [[Dido (singer)|Dido]] and [[Rod Stewart]]. The performer is noted as "Yusuf", with a cover label identifying him as "the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens". The art on the album is credited to Yoriyos. Islam wrote all of the songs except "[[Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood]]",<ref>written by [[Bennie Benjamin]], Gloria Caldwell and Sol Marcus; discussed by Islam in a [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928154157/http://www2.capitalgold.com/staticweb/avplayers/vanilla/gold_audio.html?&stream=mms%3A%2F%2Fstream2.capitalinteractive.co.uk%2Fgold%2Faudio%2Fdavid_jensen_-_yusuf4.wma&end November 2006 interview]</ref> and recorded it in the United States and the United Kingdom.<ref name="billboard1" />

Islam actively promoted this album, appearing on radio, television and in print interviews. In November 2006, he told the BBC, "It's me, so it's going to sound like that of course&nbsp;... This is the real thing&nbsp;... When my son brought the guitar back into the house, you know, that was the turning point. It opened a flood of, of new ideas and music which I think a lot of people would connect with."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Yusuf Islam to Release New Album |url=http://www.onislam.net/english/news/3341/448258.html |quote=Quoted in Agence France-Presse article. |date=1 October 2006 |access-date=27 June 2014}}</ref> Originally, he began to return only to his acoustic guitar as he had in the past, but his son encouraged him to "experiment", which resulted in the purchase of a [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]] [[Fender Stratocaster]]<ref name="Reuters2007">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN1945933420071020|title=Folk artist Yusuf Islam to sing about deportation|first=Dean|last=Goodman|work=Reuters|date=20 October 2007|access-date=6 December 2007}}</ref> in 2007.

Also in November 2006, ''Billboard'' magazine was curious as to why the artist is credited as just his first name, "Yusuf" rather than "Yusuf Islam".<ref name="Musical Return"/> His response was "Because 'Islam' doesn't have to be [[slogan]]ised. The second name is like the official tag, but you call a friend by their first name. It's more intimate, and to me that's the message of this record." As for why the album sleeve says "the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens", he responded, "That's the tag with which most people are familiar; for recognition purposes I'm not averse to that. For a lot of people, it reminds them of something they want to hold on to. That name is part of my history and a lot of the things I dreamt about as Cat Stevens have come true as Yusuf Islam."<ref name="Musical Return" />

Islam was asked by the Swiss [[periodical publication|periodical]] ''[[Tages-Anzeiger|Das Magazin]]'' why the title of the album was ''An Other Cup'', rather than "Another Cup". The answer was that his breakthrough album, ''Tea for the Tillerman'' in 1970, was decorated with Islam's painting of a peasant sitting down to a cup of steaming drink on the land. He commented that the two worlds "then, and now, are very different". His new album shows a steaming cup alone on this cover. His answer was that this was actually an ''other'' cup; something different; a bridge between the East and West, which he explained was his own perceived role. He added that, through him, "Westerners might get a glimpse of the East, and Easterners, some understanding of the West. The cup, too, is important; it's a meeting place, a thing meant to be shared."<ref name="ARABIA"/>

On ''CBS Sunday Morning'' in December 2006, he said, "You know, the cup is there to be filled&nbsp;... with whatever you want to fill it with. For those people looking for Cat Stevens, they'll probably find him in this record. If you want to find [Yusuf] Islam, go a bit deeper, you'll find him."<ref name="CBSSundaymorning"/> He has since described the album as being "over-produced" and refers to ''An Other Cup'' as being a necessary hurdle he had to overcome before he could release his new album, ''Roadsinger''.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

In April 2007, BBC1 broadcast a concert given at the [[Porchester Hall]] by Islam as part of ''BBC Sessions'', his first live performance in London in 28 years (the previous one being the [[UNICEF]] "Year of the Child" concert in 1979). He played several new songs along with some old ones like "Father and Son", "The Wind", "Where Do the Children Play?", "Don't Be Shy", "Wild World", and "Peace Train".<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC Four Sessions: Yusuf Islam|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007d8r4|website=BBC Four|publisher=BBC|access-date=23 January 2017}}</ref>

In July 2007, he performed at a concert in [[Bochum]], Germany, in benefit of Archbishop [[Desmond Tutu]]'s Peace Centre in South Africa and the Milagro Foundation of Deborah and [[Carlos Santana]]. The audience included Nobel Laureates [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], Desmond Tutu and other prominent global figures. He later appeared as the final act in the [[Live Earth concert, Hamburg|German leg]] of [[Live Earth]] in Hamburg performing some classic Cat Stevens songs and more recent compositions reflecting his concern for peace and child welfare. His set included [[Stevie Wonder]]'s "Saturn", "Peace Train", "Where Do the Children Play?", "Ruins", and "Wild World". He performed at the [[Peace One Day]] concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] on 21 September 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://musicnews.virginmedia.com/news/?news_id=29437 |title=All-star line up for Peace One Day |publisher=Musicnews.virginmedia.com |access-date=27 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014012210/http://musicnews.virginmedia.com/news/?news_id=29437 |archive-date=14 October 2008  }}</ref>
In 2008 Islam contributed the song "Edge of Existence" to the charity album ''[[Songs for Survival]]'', in support of the indigenous rights organisation [[Survival International]].