Ive studied various schools of thought… I acknowledge that some Muslims consider music prohibited, but Ive found a lot of evidence from the life of the Prophet to show that he allowed certainly, but even encouraged, music at certain times. – Cat Stevens
Ive returned to being an amateur without any ties or strings attached, which gives me a freedom I never had before. – Cat Stevens
I became very famous, as a teenager, and my name and photo were splashed in all the media. They made me larger than life, so I wanted to live larger than life, and the only way to do that was to be intoxicated. – Cat Stevens
I became alienated from this religious upbringing, and started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and perhaps I thought this was my god: the goal of making money. – Cat Stevens