If rushdie can get a knight hood by insulting muslims why not the great historian Irvine who worte about jews?

Question

may be the spineless britishers are afraid of offending the jews who have a stranglehold on the british establishment.

Answer 1

don't talk about jews, or holocaust..you can end your days in jail.But you are free to insult christians or muslims...

Answer 2

Has no one here ever read "Midnight's Children," Rushdie's most acclaimed work (written nearly a decade before "The Satanic Verses")?


I'd bet Sir Salman would be tearing his hair out (what's left of it) if he had to listen to people claim he's getting his awards just for insulting Islam. That's... just ignorant.


The guy has written many novels, with his 1981 novel "Midnight's Children" being his most acclaimed. He's also had to hide from ridiculous death threats just because a dream sequence in one of his works of fiction (a sequence dreamt by a schizophrenic, at that) recounts several old legends, including one roughly paralleling the Satanic Verses, an actual Islamic legend that has been accepted by many scholars as at least somewhat true. (In short, early Muslims likely did tolerate some amount of polytheism in order to win converts at Mecca.)

Oh, and this hasn't died out. The death threats are apparently reiterated every year.


Aside from that, dozens of people have been *killed* over a dream sequence in a work of fiction, including several translators and people who worked at bookstores that were firebombed. (Including at least one in Los Angelos.)


So, this guy has been in hiding over a book, and he's continued to write. He's an active Humanist. He's written on conflicts between religions and between the religion and the non-religious. He's won dozens of literary awards.

He's led quite a life, and let's not forget, again, that he has OTHER NOVELS, some of which are held in even higher regard than "The Satanic Verses."


So please, PLEASE stop saying he only got knighted because he "insulted Muslims" (when most people reading the book probably wouldn't even notice any insults). That's just another example of oversensitive clerics drumming up anger among the ignorant.



Skippy, Sir Salman did not cost British taxpayers money. Jerkwad wannabe murderers and the Muslim clerics who point a multimillion dollar bounty on Rushdie's head (as well as a death sentence on pretty much everyone associated with the book, and mandatory fines and prison terms for people who commit the terrible crime of just owning the book) are the ones who cost British taxpayers money. Those who bombed bookstores and murdered translators (even as far away as in Japan) are at fault.

Answer 3

I don't think its a fair comparison. Rushdie grew up as a Muslim, and he has not repeated his acts by writing another 'anti-muslim' book.

Irvine is a career anti-semite, and it has been proven in court that his 'historical evidence' was fabricated. He is laughed at by real historians, revisionists and orthodox ones alike.

I do agree that Rushdie should not have got a Knighthood though. He pissed off a lot of Muslims, and cost the UK taxpayer £10million.

Answer 4

David Irving (if you think he's that great, you could at last spell his name right) is a discredited historian, who denies the Holocaust and has links with neo-Nazi groups.

Rushdie's words in "The Satanic Verses" (which I bet you haven't read) can be interpreted as offensive to Muslims, if they're determined to be offended.

Irving simply denies what reputable historians accept as fact.

If you can't tell the difference you must be incredibly stupid. And if you think Irving is a great historian, that just confirms it.

Answer 5

Salman Rushdie was not given a knighthood for insulting Muslims. He was given a knighthood for being one of the great literary figures of the late 20th century.

Answer 6

Rushdie did not insult Muslims. Muslims chose to be insulted.

Answer 7

You know he did write other things of great literary value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie

By the way, regardless of what he wrote do you think it is appropriate for the Ayatollah to issue a death threat (fatwa) against him.

Answer 8

people should not insult one anothers beliefs, especially in a way meant to inflame and cause tensions. Qu'ran tells us to tread lightly on the earth not causing mayhem. Perhaps the knighthood crowd could learn from that. I would be offended, if a anti Christian writer was elevated in status in my country.

Answer 9

It also makes me wonder why people think its a bad thing Beckham was offered one!!

Answer 10

One was true the other was untrue!