Satanic Verses

2022 - 8 - 13

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

A tsunami of outrage: Salman Rushdie and The Satanic Verses (The Guardian)

The writer had no idea his novel would unleash such anger and become a litmus test of freedom of expression.

“The Satanic Verses is as important in my body of work as any of my other books,” he said. Abbas Salehi, the deputy minister of culture and Islamic guidance at the time, said: “Imam Khomeini’s fatwa is a religious decree and it will never lose its power or fade out.” In February 1989, Rushdie expressed remorse, saying: ‘‘I profoundly regret the distress that publication has occasioned to sincere followers of Islam.” The words had little impact, however. One Muslim-majority country after another banned the book, and in December thousands of Muslims demonstrated in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and burned a pile of the books. By October 1988, he already needed a bodyguard in the face of a deluge of death threats, cancelling trips and hunkering down. The Indian-born author had come from a career as an advertising copywriter, confecting slogans such as “naughty but nice” for cream cakes, for example.

Salman Rushdie: Who be Rushdie? why 'The Satanic Verses' put ... (BBC News)

Di Friday attack on Salman Rushdie happun 33 years afta di writer receive im first death threats.

For di last two decades, e don publish "The ground under his feet", "The enchantress of Florence", "Two years, eight months and twenty-eight nights", "The decline of Nero Golden" and "Don Quixote". For 2012, he publish "Joseph Anton. Memorias del tiempo de la fatua", an account of im life as a result of di controversy on top "The satanic verses". E join for di stage adaptation of "Children of Midnight", wey premier for London in 2003. Dem make am knight of di British Empire for 2007 for im services to literature. And di novels "East, West" (1994), " The last breath of the Moor" (1995), "The ground under his feet" (1999) and "Fury" (2001). Di author no be di only victim of di content of "The Satanic Verses". Dem find di Japanese translator of di novel for one university for di northeast of Tokyo for July 1991. Di series of stories wey refer to di mythology of Islam and di life of di prophet, Mohammed, dey intertwined around di main narrative. Rushdie narrate for "The Satanic Verses" di story of two Indian actors wey miraculously survive plane crash wey dey caused by attack. While "Midnight's Children" locate im plot for India, Rushdie third novel, "Shame," wey e publish for 1983, critically address di problems of post-colonial Pakistan. Khomeini, call for di death of di novelist and promise to reward di killer wit $3 million . But na di fourth novel e publish for 1988, "The Satanic Verses", turn di most controversial wey provoke many pipo.

Why decades later, Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' remains ... (The Times of Israel)

A year later, in 1989, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, ordering Muslims to kill the author. Born in ...

In Rushdie’s defense, some scholars have argued that his “irreverent mockery” is intended to explore whether it is possible to separate fact from fiction. Even though, in the book, Mahound’s fictional scribe, Salman the Persian, rejects the authenticity of his master’s recitations, he records them as if they were God’s. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was visited by the angel Gibreel – Gabriel in English – who, over a 22-year period, recited God’s words to him. “Why can’t we debate Islam?” Rushdie said in a 2015 interview. A year later, in 1989, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, ordering Muslims to kill the author. Author Salman Rushdie is in a US hospital with serious injuries after being stabbed by a man at an arts festival in New York state on August 12, 2022.

Why Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' is still so controversial (Asia Times)

Author Salman Rushdie is in hospital with serious injuries after being stabbed by a man at an arts festival in New York state on Friday. The following.

In Rushdie’s defense, some scholars have argued that his “irreverent mockery” is intended to explore whether it is possible to separate fact from fiction. Even though, in the book, Mahound’s fictional scribe, Salman the Persian, rejects the authenticity of his master’s recitations, he records them as if they were God’s. “Why can’t we debate Islam?” Rushdie said in a 2015 interview. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammed was visited by the angel Gibreel – Gabriel in English – who, over a 22-year period, recited God’s words to him. A year later, in 1989, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, ordering Muslims to kill the author. In turn, Muhammed repeated the words to his followers.

Salman Rushdie at Express Idea Exchange in 2013: 'Yes, I would ... (The Indian Express)

Salman Rushdie was referring to his 1988 novel that had set off a series of death threats against him and forced him to live in hiding for nearly a decade ...

“I was upset when India banned The Satanic Verses – the first in the world to do so. “Because the people are apathetic and the state does not protect; the state should tell people some things are valuable. At the time of the ban, there were no copies available in India,” he said.

From Midnight's Children to Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie's ... (CNBCTV18)

Author Salman Rushdie, whose controversial writings made him a target was brutally stabbed on stage at an event in New York.

‘The Ground Beneath Her Feet’ is a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that examines the history of rock ’n’ roll. ‘Shalimar the Clown’ is a twisted tale of love and geopolitics with a prominent American counterterrorism official and his Muslim killer at the centre. ‘The Moor’s Last Sigh’ is the story of a spice trader, who ages twice as fast as normal humans. The novel is about modern India’s coming of age told through the life of Saleem Sinai who was born at midnight, the very moment of India’s independence. It is one of the most addictive and curious works of Salman Rushdie. The first, Omar Khayyam is the son of three mothers and the other is about General Hyder and his huge dark circles.

Even thirty years later, why Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses ... (The New Indian Express)

The book, “Satanic Verses,” goes to the heart of Muslim religious beliefs when Rushdie, in dream sequences, challenges and sometimes seems to mock some of ...

In Rushdie’s defence, some scholars have argued that his “irreverent mockery” is intended to explore whether it is possible to separate fact from fiction. “Why can’t we debate Islam?” Rushdie said in a 2015 interview. Even though in the book, Mahound’s fictional scribe, Salman the Persian, rejects the authenticity of his master’s recitations, he records them as if they were God’s. Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammed was visited by the angel Gibreel – Gabriel in English – who, over a 22-year period, recited God’s words to him. A year later, in 1989, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, ordering Muslims to kill the author. Rushdie’s novel takes up these core beliefs.