212-664: The Satanic Verses controversy , also known as the Rushdie Affair , was a controversy sparked by the 1988 publication of Salman Rushdie 's novel The Satanic Verses . It centered on the novel's references to the Satanic Verses ( apocryphal verses of the Quran), and came to include a larger debate about censorship and religious violence. It included numerous killings, attempted killings (including against Rushdie himself ), and bombings by perpetrators who supported Islam. The affair had
424-454: A hadith may have drifted from its original telling to when it was finally written down, even if the chain of transmission is authentic. Overall, some Western academics have cautiously viewed the hadith collections as accurate historical sources, while the "dominant paradigm" in Western scholarship is to consider their reliability suspect. Scholars such as Wilferd Madelung do not reject
636-453: A Rambo -like figure pursued by four Pakistani guerrillas". The British Board of Film Classification refused to allow it a certificate; "it was felt that the portrayal of Rushdie might qualify as criminal libel, causing a breach of the peace as opposed to merely tarnishing his reputation." This effectively prevented the release of the film in the UK. Two months later, however, Rushdie himself wrote to
848-601: A cameo appearance in the film Bridget Jones's Diary based on the book of the same name , which is itself full of literary in-jokes. On 12 May 2006, Rushdie was a guest host on The Charlie Rose Show , where he interviewed Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta , whose 2005 film, Water , faced violent protests. He appears in the role of Helen Hunt 's obstetrician-gynaecologist in the film adaptation (Hunt's directorial debut) of Elinor Lipman 's novel Then She Found Me . In September 2008, and again in March 2009, he appeared as
1060-484: A concert by U2 . In 2010, U2 bassist Adam Clayton recalled that "lead vocalist Bono had been calling Salman Rushdie from the stage every night on the Zoo TV tour. When we played Wembley, Salman showed up in person and the stadium erupted. You [could] tell from [drummer] Larry Mullen, Jr.'s face that we weren't expecting it. Salman was a regular visitor after that. He had a backstage pass and he used it as often as possible. For
1272-470: A jinn , which made him no longer want to live. In desperation, Muhammad fled from the cave and began climbing up towards the top of the mountain to jump to his death. But when he reached the summit, he experienced another vision , this time seeing a mighty being that engulfed the horizon and stared back at Muhammad even when he turned to face a different direction. This was the spirit of revelation ( rūḥ ), which Muhammad later referred to as Gabriel ; it
1484-726: A Latin translation of a phrase ("free speech is life itself") from an address he gave at Columbia University in 1991 to mark the 200th anniversary of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . Though he enjoys writing, Rushdie says he would have become an actor if his writing career had not been successful. From early childhood, he dreamed of appearing in Hollywood films (which he later realised in his frequent cameo appearances). Rushdie includes fictional television and movie characters in some of his writings. He had
1696-495: A Meccan convert by the name of Abd Allah ibn Sa'd , who left Islam after the Prophet failed to notice small changes he had made in the dictation of the Qur'an. Daniel Pipes identified other more general issues in the book likely to have angered pious Muslims: A complaint in the book by one of the character's companions: "rules about every damn thing, if a man farts, let him turn his face to
1908-662: A Prime Minister of Pakistan". Positions Rushdie took as a committed leftist prior to the publication of his book were the source of some controversy. He defended many of those who would later attack him during the controversy. Rushdie forcefully denounced the Shah 's government and supported the Islamic Revolution of Iran , at least in its early stages. He condemned the US bombing raid on Tripoli in 1986 but found himself threatened by Libya 's leader Muammar al-Gaddafi three years later. He wrote
2120-462: A Prophet; otherwise, he would be a liar. When they returned to Mecca and asked Muhammad the questions, he told them he would provide the answers the next day. However, 15 days passed without a response from his God, leading to gossip among the Meccans and causing Muhammad distress. At some point later, the angel Gabriel came to Muhammad and provided him with the answers. In response to the first query,
2332-686: A book bitterly critical of US foreign policy in general and its war in Nicaragua in particular, for example calling the United States government , "the bandit posing as sheriff". After the Ayatollah's fatwa however, he was accused by the Iranian government of being "an inferior CIA agent". A few years earlier, an official jury appointed by a ministry of the Iranian Islamic government had bestowed an award on
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#17328485968292544-537: A book recounting the behaviour of the author during the time he was in hiding. Evans said Rushdie tried to profit financially from the fatwa and was suicidal, but Rushdie dismissed the book as a "bunch of lies" and took legal action against Evans, his co-author and their publisher. On 26 August 2008, Rushdie received an apology at the High Court in London from all three parties. A memoir of his years of hiding, Joseph Anton ,
2756-513: A certain section of the congregation marched from the Deobandi run Zakariyya Jame Masjid to the town centre and then burned the book. The organisers claimed "It was a peaceful protest, and we burned the book to try and attract public attention". The City of Bradford gained international attention in January 1989 when some of its members organized a public book-burning of The Satanic Verses , evoking as
2968-579: A chance to repent (p. 93), and Ayatollah Mehdi Rohani , head of the Shi'i community in Europe and a cousin of Khomeini, criticised Khomeini for 'respect[ing] neither international law nor that of Islam.' There was also criticism of the fatwa issued against Rushdie's publishers. According to Daniel Pipes, the Sharia "clearly establishes that disseminating false information is not the same as expressing it. 'Transmitting blasphemy
3180-536: A citizen of another country living in that country. The twelve members of the European Economic Community removed their ambassadors from Tehran for three weeks. In addition to criticism of the death sentence on the basis of human rights, the sentence was also criticised on Islamic grounds. According to Bernard Lewis , a death warrant without trial, defence and other legal aspects of sharia violates Islamic jurisprudence. In Islamic fiqh , apostasy by
3392-452: A cloak and tucked him in her arms until his fears dissipated. She had absolutely no doubts about his revelation; she insisted it was real and not a jinn. Muhammad was also reassured by Khadija's Christian cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal , who jubilantly exclaimed "Holy! Holy! If you have spoken the truth to me, O Khadijah, there has come to him the great divinity who came to Moses aforetime, and lo, he
3604-452: A conjurer, a magician and a false prophet, yet these remarks are made by a drunken apostate, a character with whom neither reader nor author has any sympathy; that the book insults the wives of the Prophet by having whores use their names, yet the wives are explicitly said to be chaste and the adoption of their names by whores is to symbolise the corruption of the city then being described (perhaps symbolising Mecca in its pre-Islamic state); that
3816-696: A deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today." In response to the attack, Rushdie commented on what he perceived as victim-blaming in the media, stating: "You can dislike Charlie Hebdo .... But the fact that you dislike them has nothing to do with their right to speak. The fact you dislike them certainly doesn't in any way excuse their murder." Muhammad Muhammad ( / m oʊ ˈ h ɑː m ə d / ; Arabic : مُحَمَّد , romanized : Muḥammad , lit. 'praiseworthy'; [mʊˈħæm.mæd] ; c. 570 – 8 June 632 CE)
4028-593: A family saga spanning some 100 years of India's history, won the Whitbread Award . The Ground Beneath Her Feet (1999) is a riff on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice , casting Orpheus and Eurydice as rock stars. The book features many original song lyrics; one was the basis for the U2 song "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" . Rushdie is credited as the lyricist. Following Fury (2001), set mainly in New York and avoiding
4240-574: A few months after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage , he fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam . The revelations ( waḥy ) that Muhammad reported receiving until his death form the verses ( āyah ) of the Quran, upon which Islam is based, are regarded by Muslims as the verbatim word of God and his final revelation. Besides
4452-592: A foreign despotism offers money in his own name in order to suborn the murder of a civilian of another country, for the offense of writing a work of fiction. No more root-and-branch challenge to the values of the Enlightenment (on the bicentennial of the fall of the Bastille ), or to the First Amendment to the Constitution , could be imagined." Rushdie wrote: "I have often been asked if Christopher defended me because he
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#17328485968294664-768: A formal indictment against Rushdie for the crime of blasphemous libel : it was said that God was described in the book as "the Destroyer of Man", yet he is described as such in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation , especially of men who are unbelievers or enemies of the Jews; that the book contained criticisms of the prophet Abraham, yet the Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions themselves see Abraham as not without fault and deserving of criticism; that Rushdie referred to Mohammed as "Mahound",
4876-425: A greater emphasis on the hadith instead of the biographical literature, since hadith maintain a traditional chain of transmission ( isnad ); the lack of such a chain for the biographical literature makes it unverifiable in their eyes. The hadiths generally present an idealized view of Muhammad. Western scholars have expressed skepticism regarding the verifiability of these chains of transmission. It
5088-455: A job leading caravans on the northern segment of the route to Syria. The historical record of Mecca during Muhammad's early life is limited and fragmentary, making it difficult to distinguish between fact and legend. Several Islamic narratives relate that Muhammad, as a child, went on a trading trip to Syria with his uncle Abu Talib and met a monk named Bahira , who is said to have then foretold his prophethood. There are multiple versions of
5300-451: A major role in Muhammad sending them there. According to W. Montgomery Watt , the episodes were more complex than the traditional accounts suggest; he proposes that there were divisions within the embryonic Muslim community, and that they likely went there to trade in competition with the prominent merchant families of Mecca. In Urwa 's letter preserved by Tabari, these emigrants returned after
5512-452: A man who was supposed to be in hiding, it was remarkably easy to see him around the place." On 24 September 1998, as a precondition to the restoration of diplomatic relations with the UK, the Iranian government, then headed by Mohammad Khatami , gave a public commitment that it would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie." Hardliners in Iran have continued to reaffirm
5724-475: A master of perpetual storytelling. Like García Marquez in One Hundred Years of Solitude , he weaves a whole people's capacity for carrying its inherited myths—and new ones that it goes on generating—into a kind of magic carpet. The human swarm swarms in every man and woman as they make their bid for life and vanish into the passion or hallucination that hangs about them like the smell of India itself. Yet at
5936-406: A mentally sound adult male is a capital crime . For Lewis, fiqh also "lays down procedures according to which a person accused of an offense is to be brought to trial, confronted with his accuser , and given the opportunity to defend himself." Lewis added that "[a] judge will then give a verdict and if he finds the accused guilty, pronounce sentence", and that "[e]ven the most rigorous and extreme of
6148-526: A message to Akhnas ibn Shariq , a member of his mother's clan, requesting his protection so that he could enter in safety. But Akhnas declined, saying that he was only a confederate of the house of Quraysh . Muhammad then sent a message to Suhayl ibn Amir , who similarly declined on the basis of tribal principle. Finally, Muhammad dispatched someone to ask Mut'im ibn 'Adiy , the chief of the Banu Nawfal . Mut'im agreed, and after equipping himself, he rode out in
6360-504: A message, rather than to strictly and accurately record history. Other important sources include the hadith collections, accounts of verbal and physical teachings and traditions attributed to Muhammad. Hadiths were compiled several generations after his death by Muslims including Muhammad al-Bukhari , Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj , Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi , Abd ar-Rahman al-Nasai , Abu Dawood , Ibn Majah , Malik ibn Anas , al-Daraqutni . Muslim scholars have typically placed
6572-527: A more illustrious suitor. When Muhammad was 25, his fortunes turned around; his business reputation caught the attention of his 40-year-old distant relative Khadija , a wealthy businesswoman who had staked out a successful career as a merchant in the caravan trade industry. She asked him to take one of her caravans into Syria, after which she was so impressed by his competence in the expedition that she proposed marriage to him; Muhammad accepted her offer and remained monogamous with her until her death. In 605,
Satanic Verses controversy - Misplaced Pages Continue
6784-413: A mountain cave named Hira for several nights of prayer. When he was 40, c. 610 , Muhammad reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave and receiving his first revelation from God. In 613, Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that 'God is One', that complete 'submission' ( Islām ) to God ( Allāh ) is the right way of life ( dīn ), and that he
6996-519: A neighbour of Madame Somoza , wife of the former Nicaraguan dictator, and his son Zafar was born around the time of the Nicaraguan revolution. His most controversial work, The Satanic Verses , was published in 1988 and won the Whitbread Award . It was followed by Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990). Written in the shadow of the fatwa, it is about the magic of story-telling and an allegorical defence of
7208-467: A non-Muslim becomes aware of Rushdie's whereabouts and has the ability to execute him quicker than Muslims, it is incumbent on Muslims to pay a reward or a fee in return for this action. In a 2007 article, journalist Anthony McRoy theorized that Khomeini refused the apology on the basis of an interpretation of the Islamic law posited by Al-Shafi'i , a 9th century jurist, who, in his Risala (Maliki Manual 37.19 Crimes Against Islam ), ruled that an "apostate
7420-459: A notable impact on geopolitics when, in 1989, Ruhollah Khomeini , Supreme Leader of Iran , issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie. The Iranian government has changed its support for the fatwa several times, including in 1998 when Mohammad Khatami said the regime no longer supported it. However, a fatwa cannot be revoked in Shia Islamic tradition. In 2017, a statement was published on
7632-510: A panellist on the HBO programme Real Time with Bill Maher . Rushdie has said that he was approached for a cameo in Talladega Nights : "They had this idea, just one shot in which three very, very unlikely people were seen as NASCAR drivers. And I think they approached Julian Schnabel , Lou Reed , and me. We were all supposed to be wearing the uniforms and the helmet, walking in slow motion with
7844-456: A place for the poor to gather to receive alms, food, and care. Christians and Jews were also allowed to participate in community worship at the mosque. Initially, Muhammad's religion had no organized way to call the community to prayer in a coordinated manner. To resolve this, Muhammad had considered using a ram's horn ( shofar ) like the Jews or a wooden clapper like the Christians, but one of
8056-726: A review in The Guardian as a "sumptuous mixture of history with fable". Luka and the Fire of Life , a sequel to Haroun and the Sea of Stories , was published in November 2010 to critical acclaim. Earlier that year, he announced that he was writing his memoir, Joseph Anton: A Memoir , which was published in September 2012. In 2012, Rushdie became one of the first major authors to embrace Booktrack (a company that synchronises ebooks with customised soundtracks), when he published his short story " In
8268-470: A satirical novel set in contemporary America, was published. 2019 saw the publication of Quichotte , a modern retelling of Don Quixote . In 2021 Languages of Truth , a collection of essays written between 2003 and 2020, was published. Rushdie's fifteenth novel Victory City , described as an epic tale of a woman who breathes a fantastical empire into existence, was published in February 2023. The book
8480-405: A serious threat of being killed, for what they say or write" – against the view of some Muslims that non-Muslims should not be free to disparage the "honour of the Prophet" or indirectly criticise Islam through satire – and that religious violence is appropriate in contemporary history in order to defend Islam and Muhammad. English writer Hanif Kureishi called
8692-422: A significant clandestine meeting was convened, again at Aqaba. In this gathering, seventy-five individuals from Medina (then Yathrib) attended, including two women, representing all the converts of the oases. Muhammad asked them to protect him as they would protect their wives and children. They concurred and gave him their oath, commonly referred to as the second pledge at al-Aqabah or the pledge of war. Paradise
Satanic Verses controversy - Misplaced Pages Continue
8904-459: A style of magic realism and the immigrant outlook that Rushdie is very conscious of as a member of the Kashmiri diaspora . Rushdie wrote a non-fiction book about Nicaragua in 1987 called The Jaguar Smile . This book has a political focus and is based on his first-hand experiences and research at the scene of Sandinista political experiments. He became interested in Nicaragua after he had been
9116-601: A television series was suggested by his US agents, said Rushdie, who felt that television would allow him more creative control than feature film. The Next People is being made by the British film production company Working Title , the firm behind projects including Four Weddings and a Funeral and Shaun of the Dead . In 2017, Rushdie appeared as himself in episode 3 of season 9 of Curb Your Enthusiasm , sharing scenes with Larry David to offer advice on how Larry should deal with
9328-474: A theologian at Al-Azhar University , argued "Blood must not be shed except after a trial [when the accused has been] given a chance to defend himself and repent". Abdallah al-Mushidd, head of Azhar's Fatwā Council stated "We must try the author in a legal fashion as Islam does not accept killing as a legal instrument". The Islamic Jurisprudence Academy in Mecca urged that Rushdie be tried, and if found guilty, be given
9540-476: A violent man. The next day, a number of Quraysh approached him, asking if he had said what they had heard from their companions. He answered yes, and one of them seized him by his cloak. Abu Bakr intervened, tearfully saying, "Would you kill a man for saying God is my Lord?" And they left him. The Quraysh attempted to entice Muhammad to quit preaching by giving him admission to the merchants' inner circle as well as an advantageous marriage, but he refused both of
9752-410: Is a blasphemy against Islam. I doubt very much that Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read the book or more than selected extracts out of context." Later, he wrote that he was "proud, then and always", of that statement; while he did not feel his book was especially critical of Islam, "a religion whose leaders behaved in this way could probably use a little criticism." The publication of the book and
9964-686: Is a member of the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America , an advocacy group representing the interests of atheistic and humanistic Americans in Washington, D.C., and a patron of Humanists UK (formerly the British Humanist Association). He is a laureate of the International Academy of Humanism . In November 2010 he became a founding patron of Ralston College , a new liberal arts college that has adopted as its motto
10176-535: Is a rather harsh review." Anita Desai : "Silence, exile and cunning, yes. And courage." Christopher Hitchens recalled: "When the Washington Post telephoned me on Valentine's Day 1989 to ask for my opinion about the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwah , I felt at once here was something that completely committed me. It was, if I can phrase it like this, a matter of everything I hated versus everything I loved. In
10388-579: Is a shrine in Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra cemetery for Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh that says he was "Martyred in London, 3 August 1989. The first martyr to die on a mission to kill Salman Rushdie." Mazeh's mother was invited to relocate to Iran, and the Islamic World Movement of Martyrs' Commemoration built his shrine in the cemetery that holds thousands of Iranian soldiers slain in the Iran–Iraq War . During
10600-710: Is also killed unless he repents... Whoever abuses the Messenger of God ... is to be executed, and his repentance is not accepted". In Britain, the Union of Islamic Students' Associations in Europe, which is the largest collective of Islamic Students in Europe, issued a statement offering to commit murder for Khomeini. Despite incitement to murder being illegal in the United Kingdom, one London property developer told reporters, "If I see him, I will kill him straight away. Take my name and address. One day I will kill him". Despite supporting
10812-514: Is generally associated with Jerusalem. Over time, these different traditions merged to present the journey as one that began in Mecca, passed through Jerusalem, and then ascended to heaven. The dating of the events also differs from account to account. Ibn Sa'd recorded that Muhammad's Mi'raj took place first, from near the Kaaba to the heavens, on the 27th of Ramadan , 18 months before the Hijrah , while
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#173284859682911024-411: Is killed in this cause will be a martyr, Allah willing . Meanwhile, if someone has access to the author of the book but is incapable of carrying out the execution, he should inform the people so that [Rushdie] is punished for his actions. Khomeini did not give a legal reasoning for his judgement. It is thought to be based on the ninth chapter of the Qur'an, called At-Tawba , verse 61: "Some of them hurt
11236-610: Is not a criminal offence. In November 1988, it was also banned in Bangladesh , Sudan , and South Africa. By December 1988, it was also banned in Sri Lanka . In March 1989, it was banned in Malaysia, followed by Brunei in the same year. In Britain, on 2 December 1988, 7,000 Muslims in the town of Bolton staged the first ever demonstration against The Satanic Verses . After the Friday prayers,
11448-506: Is not blasphemy' ( naql al-kufr laysa kufr )." In addition, the publishers were not Muslim and so could not be "sentenced under the Islamic laws of apostasy". If there was another legal justification for sentencing them to death, "Khomeini failed to provide" it. Iran's response to calls for a trial was to denounce its Islamic proponents as "deceitful". President Khomeini accused them of attempting to use religious law as "a flag under which they can crush revolutionary Islam". Some speculate that
11660-500: Is our Scheherazade , inexhaustibly enfolding story within story and unfolding tale after tale with such irrepressible delight that it comes as a shock to remember that, like her, he has lived the life of a storyteller in immediate peril. Scheherazade told her 1,001 tales to put off a stupid, cruel threat of death; Rushdie found himself under similar threat for telling an unwelcome tale. So far, like her, he has succeeded in escaping. May he continue to do so." In 2017, The Golden House ,
11872-627: Is referred to as Muhammad in a number of verses. The Quranic text also describes the settlement of his followers in Yathrib after their expulsion by the Quraysh, and briefly mentions military encounters such as the Muslim victory at Badr . The Quran, however, provides minimal assistance for Muhammad's chronological biography; most Quranic verses do not provide significant historical context and timeline. Almost none of Muhammad's companions are mentioned by name in
12084-439: Is the creature of evil". The Guardian newspaper published on 14 September 2012 a series of recollections of various British people involved in the controversy. Lisa Appignanesi , ex-president of English PEN , observed "Intransigence is never so great as when it feels it has a god on its side." One of the lawyers involved, Geoffrey Robertson QC , rehearsed the arguments and replies made when 13 Muslim barristers had lodged
12296-449: Is the prophet of his people." Khadija instructed Muhammad to let her know if Gabriel returned. When he appeared during their private time, Khadija conducted tests by having Muhammad sit on her left thigh, right thigh, and lap, inquiring Muhammad if the being was still present each time. After Khadija removed her clothes with Muhammad on her lap, he reported that Gabriel left at that moment. Khadija thus told him to rejoice as she concluded it
12508-410: Is widely accepted as the starting point, but there is disagreement among Islamic traditions as to what constitutes "the farthest place of worship". Some modern scholars maintain that the earliest tradition saw this faraway site as a celestial twin of the Kaaba, so that Muhammad's journey took him directly from Mecca through the heavens. A later tradition, however, refers to it as Bayt al-Maqdis , which
12720-400: Is widely believed by Western scholars that there was widespread fabrication of hadith during the early centuries of Islam to support certain theological and legal positions, and it has been suggested that it is "very likely that a considerable number of hadiths that can be found in the hadith collections did not actually originate with the Prophet". In addition, the meaning of
12932-566: The Hijrah , maintains that Muhammad penned the text and divulges its assumed content without supplying any isnad or corroboration. The appellation is generally deemed imprecise, as the text neither established a state nor enacted Quranic statutes, but rather addressed tribal matters. While scholars from both the West and the Muslim world agree on the text's authenticity, disagreements persist on whether it
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#173284859682913144-555: The hadith which have been compiled in later periods, but judge them in their historical context. Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim was born in Mecca c. 570 , and his birthday is believed to be in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal . He belonged to the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe, which was a dominant force in western Arabia. While his clan was one of
13356-516: The Archangel Gabriel . The book was banned in many countries with large Muslim communities, including India, Iran, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Singapore, Venezuela, and Pakistan. In total, 20 countries banned the book. In response to the protests, on 22 January 1989, Rushdie published a column in The Observer that called Muhammad "one of
13568-631: The Best of the Bookers and Booker of Bookers. After Midnight's Children , Rushdie depicted the political turmoil in Pakistan with Shame (1983), basing his characters on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq . Shame won France's Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger (Best Foreign Book) and was a close runner-up for the Booker Prize. Both these works of postcolonial literature are characterised by
13780-499: The Black Stone and performing the ritual tawaf . As Muhammad passed by them, they reportedly said hurtful things to him. The same happened when he passed by them a second time. On his third pass, Muhammad stopped and said, "Will you listen to me, O Quraysh? By Him (God), who holds my life in His hand, I bring you slaughter." They fell silent and told him to go home, saying that he was not
13992-568: The Booker Prize five times, in 1981 for Midnight's Children , 1983 for Shame , 1988 for The Satanic Verses , 1995 for The Moor's Last Sigh , and in 2019 for Quichotte . In 1981, he was awarded the prize. His 2005 novel Shalimar the Clown received the prestigious Hutch Crossword Book Award , and, in the UK, was a finalist for the Whitbread Book Awards . It was shortlisted for
14204-456: The Indian subcontinent . Rushdie's second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), won the Booker Prize in 1981 and was deemed to be "the best novel of all winners" on two occasions, marking the 25th and the 40th anniversary of the prize . After his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), Rushdie became the subject of several assassination attempts and death threats, including a fatwa calling for his death issued by Ruhollah Khomeini ,
14416-507: The Iranian state news agency reported that the fatwa will remain in place permanently. Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie CH FRSL ( / s ʌ l ˈ m ɑː n ˈ r ʊ ʃ d i / sul- MAHN RUUSH -dee ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Western civilizations , typically set on
14628-449: The Persian translation of Rushdie's book Shame , which up until then was the only time a government had awarded Rushdie's work a prize. The title The Satanic Verses immediately sparked vehement protest against Rushdie's book. The title refers to a legend of Muhammad ; a few verses were supposedly spoken by him as part of the Qur'an which praised the pagan goddesses of Al-Lat , Al-Uzza , and Manat . The verses were then withdrawn on
14840-469: The Quran . But Muhammad asserted that the Quran, in the form he conveyed it, was already an extraordinary proof. According to Amr ibn al-As , several of the Quraysh gathered at Hijr and discussed how they had never faced such serious problems as they were facing from Muhammad. They said that he had derided their culture, denigrated their ancestors, scorned their faith, shattered their community, and cursed their gods. Sometime later, Muhammad came, kissing
15052-452: The University of Cambridge , from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History . Rushdie worked as a copywriter for the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather , where he came up with "irresistibubble" for Aero and "Naughty but Nice" for cream cakes, and for the agency Ayer Barker (until 1982), for whom he wrote the line "That'll do nicely" for American Express . Collaborating with musician Ronnie Bond , Rushdie wrote
15264-587: The Year of the Elephant , when Abraha , the Aksumite viceroy in the former Himyarite Kingdom , unsuccessfully attempted to conquer Mecca. Recent studies, however, challenge this notion, as other evidence suggests that the expedition, if it had occurred, would have transpired substantially before Muhammad's birth. Later Muslim scholars presumably linked Abraha's renowned name to the narrative of Muhammad's birth to elucidate
15476-473: The fatwa sparked violence around the world, with bookstores firebombed. Muslim communities in several nations in the West held public rallies, burning copies of the book. Several people associated with translating or publishing the book were attacked, seriously injured, and even killed. Many more people died in riots in some countries. Despite the danger posed by the fatwa, Rushdie made a public appearance at London's Wembley Stadium on 11 August 1993, during
15688-508: The fatwa that has been ordered against him. The publication of The Satanic Verses by Viking Penguin Publishing in September 1988 caused immediate controversy in the Islamic world because of what was seen by some to be an irreverent depictions of Muhammad . The title refers to a disputed Muslim tradition that is referenced in the book. According to this tradition, Muhammad ( Mahound in
15900-592: The supreme leader of Iran . In total, 20 countries banned the book. Numerous killings and bombings have been carried out by extremists who cite the book as motivation, sparking a debate about censorship and religiously motivated violence. In 2022, Rushdie survived a stabbing at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York . In 1983, Rushdie was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature . He
16112-513: The "time of ignorance" before Islam, for the holy city of Mecca ; the use of the name of the Angel Gibreel (Gabriel) for a film star, of the name of Saladin , the well known Muslim military leader during the Crusades, for a devil, and the name of Ayesha , the wife of Muhammad, for a fanatical Indian girl who leads her village on a fatal pilgrimage. Moreover, the brothel of the city of Jahiliyyah
16324-546: The 2006 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy , Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared that "If there had been a Muslim to carry out Imam Khomeini's fatwa against the renegade Salman Rushdie, this rabble who insult our Prophet Mohammed in Denmark, Norway and France would not have dared to do so. I am sure there are millions of Muslims who are ready to give their lives to defend our prophet's honour and we have to be ready to do anything for that." In 1990, soon after
16536-596: The 2007 International Dublin Literary Award . Rushdie's works have spawned 30 book-length studies and more than 700 articles on his writing. He is frequently mentioned a favourite to win the Nobel Prize in Literature . Rushdie has mentored younger Indian (and ethnic-Indian) writers, influenced an entire generation of Indo-Anglian writers, and is an influential writer in postcolonial literature in general. He opposed
16748-460: The 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Hijri era (mostly overlapping with the 8th and 9th centuries CE respectively). These include traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, which provide additional information about his life. The earliest written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaq 's Life of God's Messenger written c. 767 (150 AH). Although
16960-638: The Abyssinian Kingdom of Aksum and found a small colony under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Aṣḥama ibn Abjar . Among those who departed were Umm Habiba , the daughter of one of the Quraysh chiefs, Abu Sufyan , and her husband. The Quraysh then sent two men to retrieve them. Because leatherwork at the time was highly prized in Abyssinia, they gathered a lot of skins and transported them there so they could distribute some to each of
17172-540: The Aws, who had been at odds for so long—accept Islam and adopt Muhammad as their leader, unity could be achieved between them. The next year, five of the earlier converts revisited Muhammad, bringing with them seven newcomers, three of whom were from the Banu Aws. At Aqaba, near Mecca, they pledged their loyalty to him. Muhammad then entrusted Mus'ab ibn Umayr to join them on their return to Medina to promote Islam. Come June 622,
17384-537: The Banu Khazraj. These men had a history of raiding Jews in their locality, who in turn would warn them that a prophet would be sent to punish them. On hearing Muhammad's religious message, they said to each other, "This is the very prophet of whom the Jews warned us. Don't let them get to him before us!" Upon embracing Islam, they returned to Medina and shared their encounter, hoping that by having their people—the Khazraj and
17596-809: The British government's introduction of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act , something he writes about in his contribution to Free Expression Is No Offence , a collection of essays by several writers, published by Penguin in November 2005. Rushdie was the President of PEN American Center from 2004 to 2006 and founder of the PEN World Voices Festival. In 2007, he began a five-year term as Distinguished Writer in Residence at Emory University in Atlanta , Georgia, where he has also deposited his archives. In May 2008, he
17808-546: The Isra' from Mecca to Bayt al-Maqdis took place on the 17th night of the Last Rabi’ul before the Hijrah . As is well known, these two stories were later combined into one. In Ibn Hisham 's account, the Isra' came first and then the Mi'raj, and he put these stories before the deaths of Khadija and Abu Talib. In contrast, al-Tabari included only the story of Muhammad's ascension from
18020-428: The Meccans, but he was met with a response: "If you are truly a prophet, what need do you have of our help? If God sent you as his messenger, why doesn't He protect you? And if Allah wished to send a prophet, couldn't He have found a better person than you, a weak and fatherless orphan?" Realizing his efforts were in vain, Muhammad asked the people of Ta'if to keep the matter a secret, fearing that this would embolden
18232-453: The Muslims in the community had a dream where a man in a green cloak told him that someone with a loud booming voice should announce the service by crying out " allahu akbar " ('God is greater') to remind Muslims of their top priority; when Muhammad heard about this dream, he agreed with the idea and selected Bilal , a former Abyssinian slave known for his loud voice. The Constitution of Medina
18444-472: The Prophet. Before the publication of The Satanic Verses , the publisher received "warnings from the publisher's editorial consultant" that the book might be controversial. Later, Rushdie would reflect upon the time that the book was about to be published. Speaking to an interviewer, he said, "I expected a few mullahs would be offended, call me names, and then I could defend myself in public... I honestly never expected anything like this". The Satanic Verses
18656-517: The Quran tells a story about a group of men sleeping in a cave (Quran 18:9–25), which scholars generally link to the legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. For the second query, the Quran speaks of Dhu al-Qarnayn , literally 'he of the two horns' (Quran 18:93–99), a tale that academics widely associate with the Alexander Romance . As for the third query, concerning the nature of the spirit,
18868-413: The Quran, Muhammad's teachings and practices, found in transmitted reports, known as hadith , and in his biography ( sīrah ), are also upheld and used as sources of Islamic law . The Quran is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe it represents the words of God revealed by the archangel Gabriel to Muhammad. The Quran is mainly addressed to a single "Messenger of God" who
19080-455: The Quran, hence not providing sufficient information for a concise biography. The Quran is considered to be contemporary with Muhammad, and the Birmingham manuscript has been radiocarbon dated to his lifetime, its discovery largely disproving Western revisionist theories about the Quran's origins. Important sources regarding Muhammad's life may be found in the historic works by writers of
19292-592: The Quranic revelation asserted that it was beyond human comprehension. Neither the Jews who devised the questions nor the Quraysh who posed them to Muhammad converted to Islam upon receiving the answers. Nadr and Uqba were later executed on Muhammad's orders after the Battle of Badr , while other captives were held for ransom. As Uqba pleaded, "But who will take care of my children, Muhammad?" Muhammad responded, "Hell!" In 615, Muhammad sent some of his followers to emigrate to
19504-472: The Quraysh decided to roof the Kaaba , which had previously consisted only of walls. A complete rebuild was needed to accommodate the new weight. Amid concerns about upsetting the deities, a man stepped forth with a pickaxe and exclaimed, "O goddess! Fear not! Our intentions are only for the best." With that, he began demolishing it. The anxious Meccans awaited divine retribution overnight, but his unharmed continuation
19716-500: The Quraysh sent Nadr ibn al-Harith and Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt to Yathrib to seek the opinions of the Jewish rabbis regarding Muhammad. The rabbis advised them to ask Muhammad three questions: recount the tale of young men who ventured forth in the first age; narrate the story of a traveler who reached both the eastern and western ends of the earth; and provide details about the spirit. If Muhammad answered correctly, they stated, he would be
19928-531: The South " on the platform. 2015 saw the publication of Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights , a modern take on the One Thousand and One Nights . Based on the conflict of scholar Ibn Rushd (from whom Rushdie's family name derives), Rushdie explores themes of transnationalism and cosmopolitanism by depicting a war of the universe with a supernatural world of jinns . Ursula K. Le Guin wrote: "Rushdie
20140-520: The Supreme Being in another dream as "not abstract in the least. He saw, sitting on the bed, a man of about the same age as himself", balding, wearing glasses and "seeming to suffer from dandruff ". A complaint by one of the characters about communal violence in India: "Fact is, religious faith, which encodes the highest aspirations of human race, is now, in our country, the servant of lowest instincts, and God
20352-456: The attack but changed their minds upon hearing the voices of Sawdah and some of Muhammad's daughters, since it was considered shameful to kill a man in front of the women in his family. They instead chose to wait until Muhammad left the house the next morning; one of the men peeked into a window and saw what he believed to be Muhammad (but was actually Ali dressed in Muhammad's cloak), though unbeknownst to them, Muhammad had previously escaped from
20564-507: The back of the residence. When Ali went outside to go for a walk the following morning, the men realized they had been fooled, and the Quraysh consequently offered a 100-camel bounty for the return of Muhammad's body, dead or alive. After staying hidden for three days, Muhammad subsequently departed with Abu Bakr for Medina, which at the time was still named Yathrib; the two men arrived in Medina on 4 September 622. The Meccan Muslims who undertook
20776-521: The basis for Islamic religious belief. Muhammad was born c. 570 CE in Mecca . He was the son of Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb . His father, Abdullah, the son of Quraysh tribal leader Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim , died around the time Muhammad was born. His mother Amina died when he was six, leaving Muhammad an orphan. He was raised under the care of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and paternal uncle, Abu Talib . In later years, he would periodically seclude himself in
20988-519: The beginning of the Islamic calendar , also known as the Hijri calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina . In December 629, after eight years of intermittent fighting with Meccan tribes, Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 Muslim converts and marched on the city of Mecca . The conquest went largely uncontested, and Muhammad seized the city with minimal casualties. In 632,
21200-764: The board, saying that while he thought the film "a distorted, incompetent piece of trash", he would not sue if it were released. He later said, "If that film had been banned, it would have become the hottest video in town: everyone would have seen it". While the film was a great hit in Pakistan, it went virtually unnoticed elsewhere. In 2010, Anwar al-Awlaki published an Al-Qaeda hit list in Inspire magazine , including Rushdie along with other figures claimed to have insulted Islam, including Ayaan Hirsi Ali , cartoonist Lars Vilks , and three Jyllands-Posten staff members: Kurt Westergaard , Carsten Juste , and Flemming Rose . The list
21412-765: The book took place in Islamabad, Pakistan. Six protesters were killed in an attack on the American Cultural Center, and an American Express office was ransacked. In the United States, the FBI was notified of 78 threats to bookstores in early March 1989, thought to be a small proportion of the total number of threats. The bookstore chain B. Dalton , for instance, received 30 threats in less than three hours. Bombings of book stores included two in Berkeley, California . In New York,
21624-452: The book vilified the companions of the Prophet, calling them "bums from Persia" and "clowns", yet the character saying this is a hack poet hired to write propaganda against the Prophet and does not reflect the author's beliefs; that the book criticised Islam for having too many rules and seeking to control every aspect of life, yet while characters in the book do make such remarks these cannot constitute blasphemy since they do not vilify God or
21836-495: The book's release. In Crowley's opinion, the fatwa was most likely declared because of this section of the novel and its public exposure, rather than the overall parodic treatment of Islam. On 24 September 1998, as a precondition to the restoration of diplomatic relations with Britain, the Iranian government, then headed by reformist Muhammad Khatami , gave a public commitment that it would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie". In early 2005, Khomeini's fatwa
22048-451: The book) added verses ( Ayah ) to the Quran accepting three Arabian pagan goddesses who were worshiped in Mecca as divine beings. According to the legend, Muhammad later revoked the verses, saying the devil tempted him to utter these lines to appease the Meccans (hence the "Satanic" verses). However, the narrator reveals to the reader that these disputed verses were actually from the mouth of
22260-516: The book, it was kept under the counter. On 14 February 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , the Supreme Leader of Iran and one of the most prominent Shi'a Muslim leaders, issued a fatwa calling for the death of Rushdie and his publishers. This created a major international incident that persisted for many years. Broadcast on Iranian radio, the judgement read: We are from Allah and to Allah we shall return . I am informing all brave Muslims of
22472-741: The books, not just Alice's Adventures in Wonderland but Through the Looking-Glass as well, and I can still recite the whole of " Jabberwocky " and " The Walrus and the Carpenter " from memory. I also loved the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome because of the unimaginable freedom those young people sailing in the Lake District were given by their families...When I was 16, I read The Lord Of The Rings and became obsessed, and can still recite
22684-426: The classical jurists only require a Muslim to kill anyone who insults the Prophet in his hearing and in his presence. They say nothing about a hired killing for a reported insult in a distant country." Other Islamic scholars outside Iran took issue with the fact that the sentence was not passed by an Islamic court, or that it did not limit its "jurisdiction only [to] countries under Islamic law". Muhammad Hussam al Din,
22896-467: The collection For Rushdie . Naguib Mahfouz wrote: "The veritable terrorism of which he is a target is unjustifiable, indefensible. One idea can only be opposed by other ideas. Even if the punishment is carried out, the idea as well as the book will remain." Tahar Ben Jelloun wrote that the fatwa was "intolerable, inadmissible and has nothing to do with the tolerant Islam that I was taught" and threatened "the ability to create characters and develop them in
23108-407: The command. As Muhammad reiterated his inability to read, Gabriel choked him again in a similar manner. This sequence took place once more before Gabriel finally recited the verses, allowing Muhammad to memorize them. These verses later constituted Quran 96:1-5 . When Muhammad came to his senses, he felt scared; he started to think that after all of this spiritual struggle, he had been visited by
23320-407: The conversion to Islam of a number of individuals in positions such as Hamza and Umar . Along with many others, Tabari recorded that Muhammad was desperate, hoping for an accommodation with his tribe. So, while he was in the presence of a number of Quraysh, after delivering verses mentioning three of their favorite deities (Quran 53:19–20), Satan put upon his tongue two short verses: "These are
23532-547: The country has not forgotten the vow to kill him and has jokingly referred to it as " my unfunny Valentine ". He said, "It's reached the point where it's a piece of rhetoric rather than a real threat." Despite the threats on Rushdie personally, he said that his family has never been threatened, and that his mother, who lived in Pakistan during the later years of her life, even received outpourings of support. Rushdie himself has been prevented from entering Pakistan, however. A former bodyguard to Rushdie, Ron Evans, planned to publish
23744-491: The death of her husband through neglect". His 1983 roman à clef Shame "took an aim on Pakistan, its political characters, its culture and its religion... [It covered] a central episode in Pakistan's internal life, which portrays as a family squabble between Iskander Harappa ( Zulfikar Ali Bhutto ) and his successor and executioner Raza Hyder ( Zia ul-Haq )... 'The Virgin Ironpants'... has been identified as Benazir Bhutto ,
23956-486: The death sentence. In early 2005, Khomeini's fatwa was reaffirmed by Iran's current leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in a message to Muslim pilgrims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca . Additionally, the Revolutionary Guards declared that the death sentence on him is still valid. Rushdie has reported that he still receives a "sort of Valentine 's card" from Iran each year on 14 February letting him know
24168-442: The divine origin of his revelations. Some historians posit that the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's condition in these instances are likely genuine, as they are improbable to have been concocted by later Muslims. Shortly after Waraqa's death, the revelations ceased for a period, causing Muhammad great distress and thoughts of suicide. On one occasion, he reportedly climbed a mountain intending to jump off. However, upon reaching
24380-407: The early community has been reevaluated. By the 20th century, Muslim scholars unanimously rejected this incident. On the other hand, most European biographers of Muhammad recognize the veracity of this incident of satanic verses on the basis of the criterion of embarrassment . Historian Alfred T. Welch proposes that the period of Muhammad's turning away from strict monotheism was likely far longer but
24592-460: The end of the encounter, Addas felt overwhelmed and kissed Muhammad's head, hands, and feet in recognition of his prophethood. On Muhammad's return journey to Mecca, news of the events in Ta'if had reached the ears of Abu Jahl , and he said, "They did not allow him to enter Ta'if, so let us deny him entry to Mecca as well." Knowing the gravity of the situation, Muhammad asked a passing horseman to deliver
24804-513: The end, there were no Muslims left in Mecca. Islamic tradition recounts that in light of the unfolding events, Abu Jahl proposed a joint assassination of Muhammad by representatives of each clan. Having been informed about this by the angel Gabriel, Muhammad asked his cousin Ali to lie in his bed covered with his green hadrami mantle, assuring that it would safeguard him. That night , the group of planned assassins approached Muhammad's home to carry out
25016-465: The end. Muhammad's other uncle, Abu Lahab , who succeeded the Banu Hashim clan leadership, was initially willing to provide Muhammad with protection. However, upon hearing from Muhammad that Abu Talib and Abd al-Muttalib were destined for hell due to not believing in Islam, he withdrew his support. Muhammad then went to Ta'if to try to establish himself in the city and gain aid and protection against
25228-453: The famous Isra' and Mi'raj. Nowadays, Isra' is believed by Muslims to be the journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem , while Mi'raj is from Jerusalem to the heavens. There is considered no substantial basis for the Mi'raj in the Quran, as the Quran does not address it directly. Verse 17:1 of the Quran recounts Muhammad's night journey from a revered place of prayer to the most distant place of worship. The Kaaba , holy enclosure in Mecca,
25440-402: The fatwa "one of the most significant events in postwar literary history". Even before the publication of The Satanic Verses , the books of Salman Rushdie had stoked controversy. Rushdie saw his role as a writer "as including the function of antagonist to the state". His second book Midnight's Children angered Indira Gandhi because it seemed to suggest "that Mrs. Gandhi was responsible for
25652-526: The fatwa (or at least the reaffirmation of the death threat four days later) was issued with motives other than a sense of duty to protect Islam by punishing blasphemy/apostasy. Namely: Despite claims by Iranian officials that "Rushdie's book did not insult Iran or Iranian leaders" and so they had no selfish personal motivation to attack the book, the book does include an eleven-page sketch of Khomeini's stay in Paris that could well be considered an insult to him. It describes him as having "grown monstrous, lying in
25864-657: The fatwa). After Siddiqui's death in 1996, however, his successor Ghayasuddin Siddiqui renewed support for the fatwa. His support for the fatwa continued, even after the President of Iran said his government would not pursue -- though also not withdraw -- the fatwa. and reiterated his support in 2000. Meanwhile, in America, the director of the Near East Studies Center at UCLA , George Sabbagh, told an interviewer that Khomeini
26076-504: The fatwa, some other leaders claimed that British Muslims were not allowed to carry out the fatwa themselves in order to avoid violating the law of a land in which they are a minority, and that only outside Muslims had an obligation to carry out the fatwa. Proponents of this view included the Muslim Parliament and its leader Kalim Siddiqui (who later said he believed he may have been "partially responsible" for getting Khomeini to issue
26288-484: The fight against obscurantism and fanaticism" by "the most gifted, the most learned, the most important voices of the Muslim and Arab world, gathered together to subject my work and the furor surrounding it to so brilliant, so many-sided, so judicious an examination." When, on BBC Radio 4 , he was asked for a response to the threat, Rushdie said, "Frankly, I wish I had written a more critical book," and "I'm very sad that it should have happened. It's not true that this book
26500-400: The forefathers of idolaters. The utterance and withdrawal of the so-called Satanic Verses forms an important sub-plot in the novel, which recounts several episodes in the life of Muhammad. The phrase Arab historians and later Muslims used to describe the incident of the withdrawn verses was not "Satanic verses", but the gharaniq verses; the phrase "Satanic verses" was unknown to Muslims, and
26712-408: The great geniuses of world history," but noted that Islamic doctrine holds Muhammad to be human, and in no way perfect. He held that the novel is not "an anti-religious novel. It is, however, an attempt to write about migration, its stresses and transformations." On 14 February 1989—Valentine's Day, and also the day of his close friend Bruce Chatwin 's funeral—a fatwa ordering Rushdie's execution
26924-579: The grounds that the devil had sent them to deceive Muhammad into thinking they came from God . These " Satanic Verses " are said to have been revealed between verses 20 and 21 in Surah An-Najm of the Qur'an, and feature in accounts by Al-Tabari and Ibn Ishaq . The verses also appear in other accounts of the prophet's life. Verse 23 in Surah An-Najm implies that the Satanic Verses were fabricated by
27136-400: The hate column: dictatorship, religion, stupidity, demagogy, censorship, bullying, and intimidation. In the love column: literature, irony, humour, the individual, and the defense of free expression. Plus, of course, friendship–although I'd like to think my response would have been the same even if I hadn't known Salman at all. To re-state the premise of the argument again: the theocratic head of
27348-491: The heat haze." In the end, their schedules did not allow for it. In 2009, Rushdie signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski , calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. Rushdie collaborated on the screenplay for the cinematic adaptation of his novel Midnight's Children with director Deepa Mehta . The film
27560-559: The high flying ones / whose intercession is to be hoped for." This led to a general reconciliation between Muhammad and the Meccans, and the Muslims in Abyssinia began to return home. However, the next day, Muhammad retracted these verses at the behest of Gabriel , claiming that they had been cast by Satan to his tongue and God had abrogated them. Instead, verses that revile those goddesses were then revealed. The returning Muslims thus had to make arrangements for clan protection before they could re-enter Mecca. This Satanic verses incident
27772-585: The hostility of the Quraysh against him. However, instead of accepting his request, they pelted him with stones, injuring his limbs. He eventually evaded this chaos and persecution by escaping to the garden of Utbah ibn Rabi'ah , a Meccan chief with a summer residence in Ta'if. Muhammad felt despair due to the unexpected rejection and hostility he received in the city; at this point, he realized he had no security or protection except from God , so he began praying. Shortly thereafter, Utbah's Christian slave Addas stopped by and offered grapes, which Muhammad accepted. By
27984-468: The idea of having written any of his characters as autobiographical, stating, "People assume that because certain things in the character are drawn from your own experience, it just becomes you. In that sense, I've never felt that I've written an autobiographical character." Rushdie writes of his "debt to the oral narrative traditions of India and also to the great novelists Jane Austen and Charles Dickens —Austen for her portraits of brilliant women caged by
28196-545: The imminent final judgment and the threat of hellfire for skeptics. Due to the complexity of the experience, Muhammad was initially very reluctant to tell others about his revelations; at first, he confided in only a few select family members and friends. According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet. She was followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib , close friend Abu Bakr , and adopted son Zayd . As word of Muhammad's revelations continued to spread throughout
28408-528: The inhabitants of Mecca , who were indifferent to his proselytizing activities, but when he started to attack their beliefs, tensions arose. The Quraysh challenged him to perform miracles , such as bringing forth springs of water, yet he declined, reasoning that the regularities of nature already served as sufficient proof of God's majesty. Some satirized his lack of success by wondering why God had not bestowed treasure upon him. Others called on him to visit Paradise and return with tangible parchment scrolls of
28620-876: The inscription on the Ruling Ring ('One ring to rule them all...') in the dark language of Mordor. I read an astonishing amount of Golden Age science fiction, not just Ray Bradbury , Arthur C. Clarke and Kurt Vonnegut but more arcane writers like Clifford D. Simak , James Blish , Zenna Henderson and L. Sprague de Camp ." Rushdie grew up in Bombay and was educated at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Fort in South Bombay , before moving to England in 1964 to attend Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire . He then attended King's College of
28832-539: The journalist Robert Winder recalled "images of medieval (not to mention Nazi) intolerance". In February, when the US edition was published, a new round of reviews and criticism began. March 1989 saw it banned in Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, and Singapore. The last nation to ban the book was Venezuela, in June 1989. On 12 February 1989, a 10,000-strong protest against Rushdie and
29044-469: The kingdom's generals. But the king firmly rejected their request. While Tabari and Ibn Hisham mentioned only one migration to Abyssinia, there were two sets according to Ibn Sa'd . Of these two, the majority of the first group returned to Mecca before the event of Hijrah , while the majority of the second group remained in Abyssinia at the time and went directly to Medina after the event of Hijrah . These accounts agree that persecution played
29256-419: The legal group, traditions could have been subject to invention while historic events, aside from exceptional cases, may have been subject only to "tendential shaping". Other scholars have criticized the reliability of this method, suggesting that one cannot neatly divide traditions into purely legal and historical categories. Western historians describe the purpose of these early biographies as largely to convey
29468-434: The literate ones recorded it in writing. Muhammad also introduced rituals to his group which included prayer ( salat ) with physical postures that embodied complete surrender ( islam ) to God , and almsgiving ( zakat ) as a requirement of the Muslim community ( ummah ). By this point, Muhammad's religious movement was known as tazakka ('purification'). Initially, he had no serious opposition from
29680-574: The migration were then called the Muhajirun , while the Medinan Muslims were dubbed the Ansar . A few days after settling in Medina, Muhammad negotiated for the purchase of a piece of land; upon this plot, the Muslims began constructing a building that would become Muhammad's residence as well as a community gathering place ( masjid ) for prayer ( salat ). Tree trunks were used as pillars to hold up
29892-458: The more distinguished in the tribe, it seems to have experienced a lack of prosperity during his early years. According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad was a hanif , someone who professed monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia . He is also claimed to have been a descendant of Ishmael , son of Abraham . The name Muhammad means "praiseworthy" in Arabic and it appears four times in the Quran . He
30104-445: The morning with his sons and nephews to accompany Muhammad to the city. When Abu Jahl saw him, he asked if Mut'im was simply giving him protection or if he had already converted to his religion. Mut'im replied, "Granting him protection, of course." Then Abu Jahl said, "We will protect whomever you protect." It is at this low point in Muhammad's life that the accounts in the Sīrah lay out
30316-454: The name Mahound instead of Muhammad for his chapter on Islam. After the book was first published in the United Kingdom (in September 1988), there were protests by Muslims that predominantly took place in India and the UK. When the book was published in February 1989 in the United States, it received renewed attention, and worldwide protests began to take a more violent form. In Islamic communities,
30528-411: The name Rushdie in honour of Averroes (Ibn Rushd). He recalls his "first literary influence": "When I first saw ' The Wizard of Oz ' it made a writer of me." He recalls "Every child in India in my day (and probably still) was obsessed with P. G. Wodehouse and Agatha Christie . I read mountains of books by both." He recalls that "Alice captured my imagination as few other books did: both
30740-479: The next day was seen as a sign of heavenly approval. According to a narrative collected by Ibn Ishaq , when it was time to reattach the Black Stone , a dispute arose over which clan should have the privilege. It was determined that the first person to step into the Kaaba's court would arbitrate. Muhammad took on this role, asking for a cloak. He placed the stone on it, guiding clan representatives to jointly elevate it to its position. He then personally secured it within
30952-514: The next two years, until he was eight years old, Muhammad was under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib , until the latter's death. He then came under the care of his uncle, Abu Talib , the new leader of the Banu Hashim. Abu Talib's brothers assisted with Muhammad's learning – Hamza , the youngest, trained Muhammad in archery , swordsmanship , and martial arts . Another uncle, Abbas , provided Muhammad with
31164-404: The novel became instantly controversial, because of what some Muslims considered blasphemous references. Rushdie was accused of misusing freedom of speech . By October 1988, letters and phone calls arrived at Viking Penguin from Muslims, angry with the book and demanding that it be withdrawn. Before the end of the month, the import of the book was banned in India, although possession of the book
31376-586: The offers. A delegation of them then, led by the leader of the Makhzum clan, known by the Muslims as Abu Jahl , went to Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib , head of the Hashim clan and Muhammad's caretaker, giving him an ultimatum to disown Muhammad: "By God, we can no longer endure this vilification of our forefathers, this derision of our traditional values, this abuse of our gods. Either you stop Muhammad yourself, Abu Talib, or you must let us stop him. Since you yourself take
31588-557: The office of a community newspaper, The Riverdale Press , was all but destroyed by firebombs following the publication of an editorial defending the right to read the novel and criticising the bookstores that pulled it from their shelves. But the United Kingdom was the country where violence against bookstores occurred most often and persisted the longest. Two large bookstores in Charing Cross Road, London, ( Collets and Dillons ) were bombed on 9 April. In May, explosions went off in
31800-515: The official website of the current supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, stating that "the decree is as Imam Khomeini (ra) issued" and in February 2019, the Khamenei.ir Twitter account stated that Khomeini's verdict was "solid and irrevocable". The issue was said to have divided "Muslims from Westerners along the fault line of culture," and to have pitted a core Western value of freedom of expression – that no one "should be killed, or face
32012-418: The original work was lost, this sira survives as extensive excerpts in works by Ibn Hisham and to a lesser extent by Al-Tabari . However, Ibn Hisham wrote in the preface to his biography of Muhammad that he omitted matters from Ibn Ishaq's biography that "would distress certain people". Another early historical source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by al-Waqidi ( d. 207 AH), and
32224-484: The palace forecourt with his mouth yawning open at the gates; as the people march through the gates he swallows them whole". In the words of one observer, "If this is not an insult, Khomeini was far more tolerant than one might suppose". John Crowley has noted that the section of the book depicting the Khomeini-like character was selected to be read publicly by Rushdie in the promotional events leading up to and following
32436-704: The peak, Gabriel appeared to him, affirming his status as the true Messenger of God. This encounter soothed Muhammad, and he returned home. Later, when there was another long break between revelations, he repeated this action, but Gabriel intervened similarly, calming him and causing him to return home. Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages. The early Quranic revelations utilized approaches of cautioning non-believers with divine punishment, while promising rewards to believers. They conveyed potential consequences like famine and killing for those who rejected Muhammad's God and alluded to past and future calamities. The verses also stressed
32648-484: The people of Mecca and the Muslims. Muhammad delivered Quranic verses permitting Muslims to fight the Meccans. According to the traditional account, on 11 February 624, while praying in the Masjid al-Qiblatayn in Medina, Muhammad received revelations from God that he should be facing Mecca rather than Jerusalem during prayer. Muhammad adjusted to the new direction, and his companions praying with him followed his lead, beginning
32860-468: The power of stories over silence. In 1990, Rushdie reviewed Thomas Pynchon 's Vineland in The New York Times , and offered some droll musings on the author's reclusiveness: "So he wants a private life and no photographs and nobody to know his home address. I can dig it, I can relate to that (but, like, he should try it when it's compulsory instead of a free-choice option)." Rushdie recalls: "I
33072-571: The press. On 19 February 1990, Ayatollah Khomeini's office replied: The imperialist foreign media falsely alleged that the officials of the Islamic Republic have said the sentence of death on the author of The Satanic Verses will be retracted if he repents. Imam Khomeini has said: This is denied 100%. Even if Salman Rushdie repents and become the most pious man of all time, it is incumbent on every Muslim to employ everything he has got, his life and wealth, to send him to Hell. Khomeini added: If
33284-691: The previous sprawling narrative style that spans generations, periods and places, Rushdie's novel Shalimar the Clown (2005), a story about love and betrayal set in Kashmir and Los Angeles , was hailed as a return to form by a number of critics. In his 2002 non-fiction collection Step Across This Line , he professes his admiration for Italo Calvino and Pynchon, among others. His early influences included Jorge Luis Borges , Mikhail Bulgakov , Lewis Carroll and Günter Grass . When asked who his favorite novelist is, he says: "There are days when it's Kafka , in whose world we all live; others when it's Dickens , for
33496-454: The principle of free expression, and I back you now in my turn." Ralph Ellison : "You deserve the full and passionate solidarity of any man of dignity, but I am afraid this is too little. This story of a man alone against worldwide intolerance, and of a book alone against the craziness of the media, can become the story of many others. The bell tolls for all of us." Umberto Eco : "Keep to your convictions. Try to protect yourself. A death sentence
33708-480: The prophet by saying, 'He is all ears!' Say, 'It is better for you that he listens to you. He believes in God, and trusts the believers. He is a mercy for those among you who believe.' Those who hurt God's messenger have incurred a painful retribution". However it was not explained how that chapter could support such a judgement. Over the next few days, Iranian officials offered a bounty of $ 6 million for killing Rushdie, who
33920-414: The publication of The Satanic Verses , a Pakistani film entitled International Gorillay ( International Guerillas ) was released that depicted Rushdie as a "James Bond-style villain" plotting to cause the downfall of Pakistan by opening a chain of casinos and discos in the country; he is ultimately killed at the end of the movie. The film was popular with Pakistani audiences, and it "presents Rushdie as
34132-508: The rest of his family, they became increasingly divided on the matter, with the youth and women generally believing in him, while most of the men in the elder generations were staunchly opposed. Around 613, Muhammad began to preach to the public; many of his first followers were women, freedmen , servants, slaves, and other members of the lower social class . These converts keenly awaited each new revelation from Muhammad; when he recited it, they all would repeat after him and memorize it, and
34344-452: The reward it had offered for the killing of Rushdie from $ 2.8 million to $ 3.3 million. In November 2015, former Indian minister P. Chidambaram acknowledged that banning The Satanic Verses was wrong. In 1998, Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami proclaimed the fatwa "finished"; but it has never been officially lifted, and in fact has been reiterated several times by Ali Khamenei and other religious officials. Yet more money
34556-468: The roof, and there was no fancy pulpit; instead, Muhammad stood on top of a small stool to speak to the congregation. The structure was completed after about seven months in April 623, becoming the first Muslim building and mosque; its northern wall had a stone marking the direction of prayer ( qibla ) which was Jerusalem at that time. Muhammad used the building to host public and political meetings, as well as
34768-570: The same position as we do, in opposition to what he’s saying, we will rid you of him." Abu Talib politely dismissed them at first, thinking it was just a heated talk. But as Muhammad grew more vocal, Abu Talib requested Muhammad to not burden him beyond what he could bear, to which Muhammad wept and replied that he would not stop even if they put the sun in his right hand and the moon in his left. When he turned around, Abu Talib called him and said, "Come back nephew, say what you please, for by God I will never give you up on any account." The leaders of
34980-403: The same time there are strange Western echoes, of the irony of Sterne in Tristram Shandy —that early nonlinear writer—in Rushdie's readiness to tease by breaking off or digressing at the gravest moments. This is very odd in an Indian novel! The book is really about the mystery of being born and the puzzle of who one is." Midnight's Children won the 1981 Booker Prize and, in 1993 and 2008,
35192-494: The sanctuary in Mecca to "the earthly heaven". Tabari placed this story at the beginning of Muhammad's public ministry, between his account of Khadija becoming "the first to believe in the Messenger of God" and his account of "the first male to believe in the Messenger of God". As resistance to his proselytism in Mecca grew, Muhammad began to limit his efforts to non-Meccans who attended fairs or made pilgrimages. During this period, Muhammad had an encounter with six individuals from
35404-455: The science fiction tale Grimus (1975), was generally ignored by the public and literary critics. His next novel, Midnight's Children (1981), put him on the map. It follows the life of Saleem Sinai, born at the stroke of midnight as India gained its independence, who is endowed with special powers and a connection to other children born at the birth of the modern nation of India . Sinai has been compared to Rushdie. However, Rushdie refuted
35616-432: The sheer fecundity of his imagination and the beauty of his prose. But it's probably Joyce on more days than anyone else." 2008 saw the publication of The Enchantress of Florence , one of Rushdie's most challenging works that focuses on the past. It tells the story of a European's visit to Akbar 's court, and his revelation that he is a lost relative of the Mughal emperor. The novel was praised by Ursula Le Guin in
35828-453: The social convention of their time, women whose Indian counterparts I knew well; Dickens for his great, rotting, Bombay-like city, and his ability to root his larger-than-life characters and surrealist imagery in a sharply observed, almost hyperrealistic background." V. S. Pritchett wrote: "In Salman Rushdie, the author of Midnight's Children , India has produced a glittering novelist—one with startling imaginative and intellectual resources,
36040-429: The space and time chosen by the writer." Rabah Belamri wrote "A society that refuses to question itself, that denies artists and thinkers the right to raise doubts, that dares not laugh at itself, has no hope of prospering." The composer Ahmed Essyad wrote a piece of music dedicated "To Salman Rushdie, so that, as an artist, he can write what I disagree with." Rushdie expressed gratitude for "anthology of blows struck in
36252-438: The story with details that contradict each other. All accounts of Bahira and his meeting with Muhammad have been considered fictitious by modern historians as well as by some medieval Muslim scholars such as al-Dhahabi . Sometime later in his life, Muhammad proposed marriage to his cousin and first love, Fakhitah bint Abi Talib . But likely owing to his poverty, his proposal was rejected by her father, Abu Talib, who chose
36464-567: The streets and engage in public debates without being physically harmed. At a later point, a faction within Quraysh, sympathizing with Banu Hashim, initiated efforts to end the sanctions, resulting in a general consensus in 619 to lift the ban. In 619, Muhammad faced a period of sorrow. His wife, Khadija , a crucial source of his financial and emotional support, died. In the same year, his uncle and guardian, Abu Talib , also died. Despite Muhammad's persuasions to Abu Talib to embrace Islam on his deathbed, he clung to his polytheistic beliefs until
36676-439: The town of High Wycombe and again in London, on Kings Road . Other bombings included one at a large London department store ( Liberty's ), in connection with the Penguin Bookshop inside the store, and at the Penguin store in York . Unexploded devices were found at Penguin stores in Guildford , Nottingham , and Peterborough . In the United States, it was unavailable in about one-third of bookstores. In many others that carried
36888-466: The unclear passage about "the men of elephants" in Quran 105:1–5. The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity deems the tale of Abraha's war elephant expedition as a myth. Muhammad's father, Abdullah , died almost six months before he was born. Muhammad then stayed with his foster mother, Halima bint Abi Dhu'ayb , and her husband until he was two years old. At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother Amina to illness and became an orphan. For
37100-487: The wall. The financial security Muhammad enjoyed from Khadija , his wealthy wife, gave him plenty of free time to spend in solitude in the cave of Hira . According to Islamic tradition, in 610, when he was 40 years old, the angel Gabriel appeared to him during his visit to the cave. The angel showed him a cloth with Quranic verses on it and instructed him to read. When Muhammad confessed his illiteracy, Gabriel choked him forcefully, nearly suffocating him, and repeated
37312-399: The wind, a rule about which hand to use for the purpose of cleaning one's behind ...", which was said to mix up "Islamic law with its opposite and with the author's whimsy"; the prophet of Rushdie's novel, as he lies dying, being visited in a dream by the Goddess Al-Lat , on the grounds that this suggested either that she exists or that the prophet thought she did; the angel Gibreel's vision of
37524-442: The words for an advertising record on behalf of the now defunct Burnley Building Society that was recorded at Good Earth Studios , London. The song was called "The Best Dreams" and was sung by George Chandler . It was while at Ogilvy that Rushdie wrote Midnight's Children , before becoming a full-time writer. Rushdie was a personal friend of Angela Carter 's, calling her "the first great writer I ever met". Rushdie's debut,
37736-562: The work of Waqidi's secretary Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi ( d. 230 AH). Due to these early biographical efforts, more is known about Muhammad than almost any other founder of a major religion. Narratives of Islamic Origins Many scholars accept these early biographies as authentic. However, Waqidi's biography has been widely criticized by Islamic scholars for his methods, in particular his decision to omit his sources. Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between traditions touching legal matters and purely historical events. In
37948-426: The world are genuinely distressed by the publication of my novel. I profoundly regret the distress the publication has occasioned to the sincere followers of Islam. Living as we do in a world of many faiths, this experience has served to remind us that we must all be conscious of the sensibilities of others. This was relayed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran "via official channels" before being released to
38160-408: The world that the author of The Satanic Verses , a text written, edited, and published against Islam, the Prophet of Islam, and the Qur'an, along with all the editors and publishers aware of its contents, are condemned to death. I call on all valiant Muslims wherever they may be in the world to kill them without delay, so that no one will dare insult the sacred beliefs of Muslims henceforth. And whoever
38372-429: Was "completely within his rights" to call for Rushdie's death. In May 1989 in Beirut, Lebanon , British citizen Jackie Mann was abducted "in response to Iran's fatwa against Salman Rushdie for the publication of The Satanic Verses and more specifically, for his refuge and protection in the United Kingdom". He joined several Westerners held hostage there. Two months earlier a photograph of three teachers held hostage
38584-536: Was Muhammad's promise to them in exchange for their loyalty. Subsequently, Muhammad called upon the Meccan Muslims to relocate to Medina. This event is known as the Hijrah , literally meaning 'severing of kinship ties'. The departures spanned approximately three months. To avoid arriving in Medina by himself with his followers remaining in Mecca, Muhammad chose not to go ahead and instead stayed back to watch over them and persuade those who were reluctant. Some were held back by their families from leaving, but in
38796-437: Was Rushdie's first released work since he was attacked and injured in 2022. In April 2024, his autobiographical book Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder , in which Rushdie writes about the attack and his recovery, was published. It was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction . Rushdie has had a string of commercially successful and critically acclaimed novels. His works have been shortlisted for
39008-493: Was a legal covenant written by Muhammad. In the constitution, Medina's Arab and Jewish tribes promised to live peacefully alongside the Muslims and to refrain from making a separate treaty with Mecca. It also guaranteed the Jews freedom of religion. In the agreement, everyone under its jurisdiction was required to defend and protect the oasis if attacked. Politically, the agreement helped Muhammad better understand which people were on his side. Ibn Ishaq , following his narration of
39220-422: Was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other prophets in Islam . Muhammad's followers were initially few in number, and experienced persecution by Meccan polytheists for 13 years. To escape ongoing persecution, he sent some of his followers to Abyssinia in 615, before he and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina (then known as Yathrib) later in 622. This event, the Hijrah , marks
39432-464: Was a treaty or a unilateral proclamation by Muhammad, the number of documents it comprised, the primary parties, the specific timing of its creation (or that of its constituent parts), whether it was drafted before or after Muhammad's removal of the three leading Jewish tribes of Medina, and the proper approach to translating it. Following the emigration, the people of Mecca seized property of Muslim emigrants to Medina. War would later break out between
39644-425: Was able to meet the famously invisible man. I had dinner with him at Sonny Mehta 's apartment in Manhattan and found him very satisfyingly Pynchonesque. At the end of dinner I thought, well, now we're friends, and maybe we'll see each other from time to time. He never called again." Rushdie has published many short stories, including those collected in East, West (1994). His 1995 novel The Moor's Last Sigh ,
39856-421: Was added to the bounty in February 2016. On 3 August 1989, while Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh was priming a book bomb loaded with RDX explosives in a hotel in Paddington , Central London, the bomb exploded prematurely, destroying two floors of the hotel and killing Mazeh. A previously unknown Lebanese group, the Organization of the Mujahidin of Islam, said he died preparing an attack "on the apostate Rushdie". There
40068-605: Was also called Midnight's Children . Seema Biswas , Shabana Azmi , Nandita Das , and Irrfan Khan participated in the film. Production began in September 2010; the film was released in 2012. Rushdie announced in June 2011 that he had written the first draft of a script for a new television series for the US cable network Showtime , a project on which he will also serve as an executive producer. The new series, to be called The Next People , will be, according to Rushdie, "a sort of paranoid science-fiction series, people disappearing and being replaced by other people." The idea of
40280-480: Was also known as "al-Amin" ( lit. ' faithful ' ) when he was young; however, historians differ as to whether it was given by people as a reflection of his nature or was simply a given name from his parents, i.e., a masculine form of his mother's name "Amina". Muhammad acquired the kunya of Abu al-Qasim later in his life after the birth of his son Qasim, who died two years afterwards. Islamic tradition states that Muhammad's birth year coincided with
40492-429: Was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam . According to Islam , he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam , Noah , Abraham , Moses , Jesus , and other prophets . He is believed to be the Seal of the Prophets and last Ulu al-ʿAzm Prophet in Islam along with the Quran , his teachings and normative examples form
40704-477: Was appointed a Commandeur de l' Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France in 1999. Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for his services to literature. In 2008, The Times ranked him 13th on its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Since 2000, Rushdie has lived in the United States. He was named Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University in 2015. Earlier, he taught at Emory University . He
40916-473: Was born in Bombay on 19 June, 1947 in British India , into a Kashmiri Muslim family. He is the son of Anis Ahmed Rushdie, a Cambridge -educated lawyer-turned-businessman, and Negin Bhatt, a teacher. Rushdie's father was dismissed from the Indian Civil Services (ICS) after it emerged that the birth certificate submitted by him had changes to make him appear younger than he was. Rushdie has three sisters. He wrote in Joseph Anton that his father adopted
41128-415: Was coined by Orientalist Western academics specialising in the study of cultures considered eastern. The story itself is not found in the six Sahih of the Sunni or the Shiite sources, so much so that Muraghi, in his commentary, says: "These traditions are undoubtedly a fabrication of the heretics and foreign hands, and have not been found in any of the authentic books". According to Daniel Pipes, when attention
41340-411: Was drawn to a book with this title, "Muslims found [it] incredibly sacrilegious", and took it to imply that the book's author claimed that verses of the Qur'an were "the work of the Devil". According to McRoy (2007), other controversial elements included the use of the name Mahound , said to be a derogatory term for Muhammad used by the English during the Crusades ; the use of the term Jahilia, denoting
41552-477: Was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters . In 2014, he taught a seminar on British Literature and served as the 2015 keynote speaker In September 2015, he joined the New York University Journalism Faculty as a Distinguished Writer in Residence. Rushdie is a member of the advisory board of The Lunchbox Fund , a non-profit organisation that provides daily meals to students of township schools in Soweto of South Africa. He
41764-502: Was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters . In 2012, he published Joseph Anton: A Memoir , an account of his life in the wake of the events following The Satanic Verses . Rushdie was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in April 2023. Rushdie's personal life, including his five marriages and four divorces, has attracted notable media attention and controversies, particularly during his marriage to actress Padma Lakshmi. Rushdie
41976-402: Was later encapsulated in a story that made it much shorter and implicated Satan as the culprit. In 616, an agreement was established whereby all other Quraysh clans were to enforce a ban on the Banu Hashim , prohibiting trade and marriage with them. Nevertheless, Banu Hashim members could still move around the town freely. Despite facing increasing verbal abuse, Muhammad continued to navigate
42188-480: Was later expanded to include Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier , who was murdered in a terror attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris, along with 11 other people. After the attack, Al-Qaeda called for more killings. Rushdie expressed his support for Charlie Hebdo , saying "I stand with Charlie Hebdo , as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity ... religious totalitarianism has caused
42400-400: Was my close friend. The truth is that he became my close friend because he wanted to defend me...He and I found ourselves describing our ideas, without conferring, in almost identical terms. I began to understand that while I had not chosen the battle it was at least the right battle, because in it everything that I loved and valued (literature, freedom, irreverence, freedom, irreligion, freedom)
42612-484: Was not Satan but an angel visiting him. Muhammad's demeanor during his moments of inspiration frequently led to allegations from his contemporaries that he was under the influence of a jinn, a soothsayer, or a magician, suggesting that his experiences during these events bore resemblance to those associated with such figures widely recognized in ancient Arabia. Nonetheless, these enigmatic seizure events might have served as persuasive evidence for his followers regarding
42824-422: Was not a naturalistic angel , but rather a transcendent presence that resisted the ordinary limits of humanity and space. Frightened and unable to understand the experience, Muhammad hurriedly staggered down the mountain to his wife Khadija. By the time he got to her, he was already crawling on his hands and knees, shaking wildly and crying "Cover me!", as he thrust himself onto her lap. Khadija wrapped him in
43036-419: Was proclaimed on Radio Tehran by Ayatollah Khomeini , the Supreme leader of Iran at the time, calling the book " blasphemous against Islam". Chapter IV of the book depicts the character of an Imam in exile who returns to incite revolt from the people of his country with no regard for their safety. According to Khomeini's son, his father never read the book. A bounty was offered for Rushdie's death, and he
43248-429: Was published by Viking Penguin on 26 September 1988 in the UK, and on 22 February 1989 in the US. Upon its publication the book garnered considerable critical acclaim in the United Kingdom. On 8 November 1988, the work received the Whitbread Award for novel of the year, worth £20,000. According to one observer, "almost all the British book reviewers" were unaware of the book's connection to Islam because Rushdie has used
43460-446: Was ranged against everything I detested (fanaticism, violence, bigotry, humorlessness, philistinism, and the new offense culture of the age). Then I read Christopher using exactly the same everything-he-loved-versus-everything-he-hated trope, and felt … understood." In 1993, 100 writers and intellectuals from the Muslim world, including Adonis ; Mohammed Arkoun , Mahmoud Darwish , Amin Malouf and Edward Said expressed solidarity in
43672-422: Was reaffirmed by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a message to Muslim pilgrims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca . Additionally, the Revolutionary Guards have declared that the death sentence on him is still valid. Iran has rejected requests to withdraw the fatwa on the basis that only the person who issued it may withdraw it, with Ruhollah Khomeini having died in 1989. On 14 February 2006,
43884-456: Was released by Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine with the message that it "would take revenge against" all institutions and organisations that insulted in one way or another "members of the Prophet Mohammed's family". Khomeini's fatwa was condemned across the Western world by governments on the grounds that it violated the universal human rights of free speech , freedom of religion , and that Khomeini had no right to condemn to death
44096-449: Was released on 18 September 2012; "Joseph Anton" was Rushdie's secret alias during the height of the controversy. In February 1997, Ayatollah Hasan Sane'i , leader of the bonyad panzdah-e khordad (Fifteenth of Khordad Foundation), reported that the blood money offered by the foundation for the assassination of Rushdie would be increased from $ 2 million to $ 2.5 million. Then a semi-official religious foundation in Iran increased
44308-404: Was reported en masse and documented by nearly all of the major biographers of Muhammad in Islam's first two centuries, which according to them corresponds to Quran 22:52. But since the rise of the hadith movement and systematic theology with its new doctrines, including the Ismah , which claimed that Muhammad was infallible and thus could not be fooled by Satan, the historical memory of
44520-424: Was staffed by prostitutes with the same names as Muhammad's wives , who are viewed by Muslims as "the Mothers of all Believers". Other issues many Muslims have found offensive include Abraham being called a "bastard" for casting Hagar and Ishmael in the desert; and a character named Salman the Persian who serves as one of the Prophet's scribes, an apparent reference to the story, controversial among Muslims, of
44732-722: Was thus forced to live under police protection for several years. On 7 March 1989, the United Kingdom and Iran broke diplomatic relations over the Rushdie controversy. In 1989, The New York Times published "Words For Salman Rushdie": "28 distinguished writers born in 21 countries speak to him from their common land – the country of literature. For expressing their ideas publicly in the past many of these writers have suffered censorship, exile – forced or self-imposed – and imprisonment." Czeslaw Milosz wrote: "I have particular reasons to defend your rights, Mr. Rushdie. My books have been forbidden in many countries or have had whole passages censored out. I'm grateful to people who stood then by
44944-489: Was thus forced to live under police protection for the next nine years. On 7 March 1989, the United Kingdom and Iran broke diplomatic relations over the Rushdie controversy. On 18 February, Iran's President Ali Khamenei (who would later that year succeed Khomeini as Supreme Leader) suggested that if Rushdie "apologises and disowns the book, people may forgive him". Following this, Rushdie issued "a carefully worded statement", saying: I recognize that Muslims in many parts of
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