"I left a question mark that was not filled in by me, but by others," Islam said. "And that's why, perhaps, giving a talk like this helps."

Islam said he hoped his speech would help others live life "on the straight path" of Islam in addition to clarifying facts about his life and his religion.

Some misconceptions have proved very harmful, he said. When the English press misrepresented his opinion on Iran's death sentence for author Salmon Rushdie, he was later denied entrance to Israel in the early 1990s.

He said other misconceptions about his life are more harmless, citing the widespread belief that he wrote or sang the song "Cat's in the Cradle." The song was actually written by Harry Chapin.

And although Islam has not released a rock album for over two decades, he said that nothing in his religion prohibits singing. He is glad his son still listens to his songs, he said.

Islam used many of his own lyrics in the speech, but said he now disapproves of some of his earlier songs for their association with a lifestyle that involves sex and drugs.

He told the audience that he has not stopped recording--though his current albums are a cappella religious collections. Several of his latest works, including Prayers of the Last Prophet, were on sale outside Science Center C yesterday.