The Rushdie fatwa
Jonathan Rosen writes:
Thirty-seven years ago, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, sentenced Salman Rushdieto death on Valentine’s Day for writing a novel.
It is hard to write that sentence without feeling it is a parody of the opening line of Franz Kafka’s The Trial: “Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested.”
The then Supreme Leader said:
“Even if Salman Rushdie becomes the most pious man of all time, it is incumbent on every Muslim to employ everything he has got, his life and his wealth, to send him to hell.”
This was for writing a book. What I didn’t realise was how it also covered anyone involved with the book:
- Japanese translator stabbed to death
- Norwegian publisher stabbed
- Turkish editor – attempted burning alive (37 others died)
- Belgium muslim leaders shot to death for saying there was freedom of expression for the book
- Rushdie stabbed in New Jersey
Rushdie has now of course outlived two Supreme Leaders.
The post The Rushdie fatwa first appeared on Kiwiblog.