Was it Iran that banned Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie?

Question

I never read that book, what was the big deal?

Answer 1

cause it made a mockery of islam it was supposedly about mohammed it was about a guy who survives a plane crash and starts a religion and its cool at first but when he grows in power he becomes a fanatic i havent read it but i know what its about i heard it was supposed to be good

Answer 2

info from wikipedia
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Muhammad. The title refers to the Satanic Verses, an attempted interpolation in the Qur'an described by Ibn Ishaq in his biography of Muhammad (the oldest surviving text). The authenticity of these Satanic verses has been disputed by the earliest Muslim historians.

The novel caused much controversy upon publication in 1988, as many Muslims considered that it contained blasphemous references. India was the first country to ban the book. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran, a Shi'a Muslim scholar, issued a fatwa that called for the death of Rushdie and claimed that it was the duty of every Muslim to obey, despite never having read the book.

On February 14, 1989, the Ayatollah broadcast the following message on Iranian radio: "I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Qur'an, and all those involved in its publication who are aware of its content are sentenced to death."

As a result, Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese language translator of the book was stabbed to death on July 11, 1991; Ettore Capriolo, the Italian language translator, was seriously injured in a stabbing the same month; and William Nygaard, the publisher in Norway, survived an attempted assassination in Oslo in October of 1993. On February 14, 2006, the Iranian state news agency reported that the fatwa will remain in place permanently.

In the United Kingdom, however, the book garnered great critical acclaim. It was a 1988 Booker Prize Finalist, eventually losing to Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda.

see online notes about content here
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/anglophone/satanic_verses/

Answer 3

Correct - Ayatollah Khomeini proclaimed a fatwa against Rushdie and anyone else involved in the book's publication, sentencing them to death on sight. (The publisher and Italian translator were attacked, and the Japanese translator was killed.)

Taking from Wikipedia, which explains most of what "the big deal" is:

-----

One of these sequences contains most of the elements that have been criticized as offensive to Muslims. It is a transformed re-narration of the life of the prophet Muhammad (called the "Messenger" [and "Mahound"] in the novel) in Mecca ("Jahilia" in the novel). At its centre is the episode of the "Satanic Verses", in which the "Messenger" first pronounces a revelation in favor of the polytheistic deities of pre-Islamic Mecca in order to placate and win over the population, but later renounces this revelation as an error induced by Satan. The narrative also presents two fictional opponents of the "Messenger": a demonic heathen priestess, Hind, and an irreverent skeptic and satirical poet, Baal. When the "Messenger" returns to the city in triumph, Baal organises an underground brothel where the prostitutes take on the identities of the "Messenger"'s wives. Also, one of the "Messenger"'s companions claims that he, doubting the "Messenger"'s authenticity, has subtly altered portions of the Qur'an as the "Messenger" narrated it to him.

----

I think it's fairly obvious how that would be seen as offensive, similarly to how The Last Temptation of Christ was seen as offensive by the Christian community (although Last Temptation didn't directly say anything against Christ NOR did it question the veracity of the Bible.)

I am sympathetic towards Muslims who are offended by the sequence. However, Khomeini's fatwa is IMO wrong and unnecessary.

Answer 4

Several countries banned it, but it was the Ayatollah Khomeini (from Iran) who put out the death warrant on Rushdie.

The big deal ("officially"): it states some of the verses in the Qur'an came from Satan. Nothing new, Mohammad himself claimed he was tricked into inserting some verses into the Qur'an by the Devil, then he denounced them.

The real deal: it states that a Khomeini-like character was in pact with the Devil.

Answer 5

Yes, sayeth the Ayatola Komenhi....who is dead now.

Rushdie is best known for the violent reactions that his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), provoked amongst the Muslim world community. After death threats and a fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, calling for his assassination, he spent years underground, appearing in public only sporadically.

Rushdie is currently a writer in residence at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.
The publication of The Satanic Verses in September 1988 caused immediate controversy in the Islamic world due to what was perceived as an irreverent depiction of the prophet Muhammad. The title refers to a Muslim tradition that is related in the book. According to it, Muhammad (Mahound in the book) added verses to the Qur'an accepting three goddesses that used to be worshipped 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). The book was banned in many countries with large Muslim communities.

On 14 February 1989, a fatwa requiring Rushdie's execution was proclaimed on Radio Tehran by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran at the time, calling the book "blasphemous against Islam." A bounty was offered for the death of Rushdie, who was thus forced to live in hiding for years to come. On 7 March 1989, the United Kingdom and Iran broke diplomatic relations over the Rushdie controversy.

Meanwhile, further violence occurred around the world, with the firebombing of bookstores. Muslim communities throughout the world held public rallies in which copies of the book were burned. Several people associated with translating or publishing the book were attacked and seriously injured or killed. In late 1990, Rushdie apologised to Muslims and even formally converted to Islam,[3] but recanted a short time later describing it as the "biggest mistake of my life" in an interview he gave to Anne McElvoy of The Times published on August 26, 1995.

On 24 September 1998, as a precondition to the restoration of diplomatic relations with Britain, Iran gave a public commitment that it would do nothing to harm Rushdie.[4] But soon after restoration of diplomatic relations, Iranian authorities reversed themselves and reaffirmed the death threats.[5] In early 2005, Khomeini's fatwa was reaffirmed by Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a message to Muslim pilgrims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.[6] Additionally, the Revolutionary Guards have declared that the death sentence on him is still valid.[7] Iran has rejected requests to withdraw the fatwa on the basis that only the person who issued it may withdraw it.[6]

Salman Rushdie, at Atlanta, said he still receives a "sort of Valentine's card" from Iran each year on February 14 letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to kill him. He was also quoted saying, "It's reached the point where it's a piece of rhetoric rather than a real threat."[8

Answer 6

definite. A looooong time in the past. It became poorly written and boring. regrettably the media were given carry of it and positioned accessible have been some insulting references to Islam. The propaganda gadget began operating and a 'media-pushed controversy' arose. The e book went from being a e book which could prefer to have lengthy gone into document 13/could were forgotten, to a e book that earned the author quite some funds and attractiveness. Rushdie had easily written extra valuable books in the previous this, yet sorry to assert those were given over-shadowed by technique of easily one of his 'lesser' works: The Satanic Verses. the total ingredient became in all likelihood a propaganda ploy and the Muslims fell into the seize, very such as others in the previous them have and could interior the destiny. A scapegoat is continuously needed if you opt for to make funds with their warfare machines.

Answer 7

The book was ok. It was basically the "Da Vinci Code" to the nation of Islam. They were offended by it, and put a mark on him. What I do not think they realized is by doing so, they likely encouraged more people to read the book to see what the fuss was all about.

It's like people showing up and protesting Klan rallies. Then fights start, the news shows up, and their message is spread through the media. I have always contended that if no one bothered to show up to their rallies, the news wouldn't show up with nothing to report, and it would be a bunch of guys in sheets standing around talking to themselves.

But, people continue to protest their rallies, and they make it on the news, because racial fight = ratings/ good headlines.

Answer 8

Just about every Islamic country banned the book. But it was Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini who promounced a Fatois on him - basically a price on his head... which still exists because the Ayatollah died before he could withdraw it so it stands forever.

I've heard the book is rather tedious but if you pronounced a death sentence on the author of every tedious book the graveyards would be overflowing...

Answer 9

I didn't either but do remember the news bytes. It wasn't so much actually banned as much as in it he says Islam is actually Satan worship so the Big Tofus of Iran put a contract out on the guy. It only made me wonder if it wasn't all a publicity scam to sell a book and get people away from the TV monitors and their noses back in books and semi legible type. ( Yes I don't have much faith in the news. )

Answer 10

Yes, they also issued orders to have Rushdie whacked.