Its 20 years since Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced a death sentence on Salman Rushdie for ‘insulting’ Islam with his novel The Satanic Verses. The repercussions were profound – and are still being felt. I elaborate the course of the affair, from book-burnings and fire bombings to the dramatic impact it had on freedom of expression in a multicultural society
What writer said at the time
Harold Pinter playwright
“A very distinguished writer has used his imagination to write a book and has criticized the religion into which he was born and he has been sentenced to death as well as his publishers. It is an intolerable and barbaric state of affairs.”
John Berger author and critic
“I suspect that Salman Rushdie, if he is not caught in a chain of events of which he has completely lost control, might, by now, be ready to consider asking his world publishers to stop producing more or new editions of The Satanic Verses. Not because of the threat to his own life, but because of the threat to the lives of those who are innocent of either writing or reading the book.”
Germaine Greer writer and academic
“I refuse to sign petitions for that book of his, which was about his own troubles.”
Jimmy Carter US president, 1977-81
“Rushdie’s book is a direct insult to those millions of Moslems whose sacred beliefs have been violated … The death sentence proclaimed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, however, was an abhorrent response. It is our duty to condemn the threat of murder but we should be sensitive to the concern and anger that prevails even among the more moderate Muslims.”
John Le Carre author
“Again and again, it has been within his Rushdie’s power to save the faces of his publishers and, with dignity, withdraw his book until a calmer time has come … It seems to me he has nothing more to prove except his own insensitivity. “
Roald Dahl author
“Rushdie knew exactly what he was doing and cannot plead otherwise. This kind of sensationalism does indeed get an indifferent book on to the top of the bestseller list – but to my mind it is a cheap way of doing it.
Sir Geoffrey Howe foreign secretary, 1983-89
The British government, the British people, does not have any affection for the book … It compares Britain with Hitler’s Germany. We do not like that any more than the people of the Muslim faith like the attacks on their faith contained in the book. So we are not sponsoring the book. What we are sponsoring is the right of people to speak freely, to publish freely.”
Courtesy : Syeda Sana Rizvi
“A very distinguished writer has used his imagination to write a book and has criticized the religion into which he was born and he has been sentenced to death as well as his publishers. It is an intolerable and barbaric state of affairs.”
“I suspect that Salman Rushdie, if he is not caught in a chain of events of which he has completely lost control, might, by now, be ready to consider asking his world publishers to stop producing more or new editions of The Satanic Verses. Not because of the threat to his own life, but because of the threat to the lives of those who are innocent of either writing or reading the book.”
“I refuse to sign petitions for that book of his, which was about his own troubles.”
“Rushdie’s book is a direct insult to those millions of Moslems whose sacred beliefs have been violated … The death sentence proclaimed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, however, was an abhorrent response. It is our duty to condemn the threat of murder but we should be sensitive to the concern and anger that prevails even among the more moderate Muslims.”
“Again and again, it has been within his Rushdie’s power to save the faces of his publishers and, with dignity, withdraw his book until a calmer time has come … It seems to me he has nothing more to prove except his own insensitivity. “
“Rushdie knew exactly what he was doing and cannot plead otherwise. This kind of sensationalism does indeed get an indifferent book on to the top of the bestseller list – but to my mind it is a cheap way of doing it.
The British government, the British people, does not have any affection for the book … It compares Britain with Hitler’s Germany. We do not like that any more than the people of the Muslim faith like the attacks on their faith contained in the book. So we are not sponsoring the book. What we are sponsoring is the right of people to speak freely, to publish freely.”
Nice post about the evil man.
as a muslim we have to against our
eniemies, and i appriciate the work done by
Miss Sana Rizvi.
We have to get ready against all those who unconditionally criticize our religion like
salman sushdi (layeen). and Miss Sana Rizvi did great.
Thanks,
we have to fight and digout people like salman rushdie,such that there will no place for such people in the globe(Ameen).
Thanks for your encouragement.