I read the Satanic Verses back in 1988. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was disappointed. It was pretty dire, frankly. That said, I would always stand by the author’s right to write what he wants and the publisher to publish freely without constraint.
Rushdie reflects on what would have happened if he had written it today.
Sir Salman Rushdie has said he does not think his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses would be published today because of a climate of “fear and nervousness”.
The writer said the banning of his book in many countries and the subsequent threats on his life had created a “long-term chilling effect”.
“A book which was critical of Islam would be difficult to be published now,” he told the BBC’s Will Gompertz.
Unfortunately, he is probably right. The childish temper tantrums exhibited in the Islamic world – backed up with guns and bombs ensures that the aura of nervousness continues. The Islamic world really does not understand freedom of speech – indeed, they don’t understand other freedoms either – and will use violent protest and the threats of retribution to instil fear in the weak-minded and weak-willed leaders of the so-called free world. When people are rounded up for mocking Islam, then we lurch towards fascism, fascism backed by the Islamists. We don’t need enemies while we have “friends” such as ours in places of power – be it Number 10 or the White House. We don’t need enemies while politicians pass flawed and anti-liberty legislation such as hate speech laws. Dhimmitude is to give in, to acquiesce to fascism and bullying, when, in fact, we should be ridiculing and ignoring such protests.
Salman Rushdie is right. The past is a foreign country. A foreign country that holds more and more appeal as each day passes.
Oddly enough the Rushdie book I found most interesting was “Midnight’s Children” which takes an axe to everyone involved in the dismantling of the Raj. The Brits don’t get off light but it is nothing to the founders of Pakistan or India or the subsequent wars but whilst laying a monty on the Pakistanis he unleashes utter (and justified) bile on Indira Gandhi who was an abject moo. She was shot dead by her own bodyguards.
When people are rounded up for mocking Islam, then we lurch towards fascism, fascism backed by the Islamists.
Well, I’ve tried to make a start.
YOU are not the only one – but be careful – or youi’ll get banned for being “racist” if you make true statements about that particular form of religious insanity….
( Guess how I found out? )
Interesting that the 1989 fatwa still hangs over Rushdie. An article in Le Monde last week says that the Iranian Religious Foundation is offering $3.3m for his assassination.
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2012/09/16/la-prime-iranienne-pour-tuer-rushdie-portee-a-3-3-millions-de-dollars_1761011_3218.html
“The past is a foreign country. A foreign country that holds more and more appeal as each day passes.”
Indeed. I moved there nearly ten years ago. Despite the many problems currently prevailing, a large degree of reality still dominates. Thank whichever Gods are in the ascendency these days for that small mercy. I won’t be returning to the depressing insanity of the UK police state.
Nor will I be getting close to the “religion of peace”. As that rather attractive and feisty young American lady said on the YouTube clip a while back: “You can take your dhimmitude and shove it up your ass”.
to instil fear in the weak-minded and weak-willed leaders of the so-called free world.
Absolutely. And the leaders of the free world are no keener on freedom of speech than the Muslim world is; they find it very handy to have an excuse to run round telling people they can’t say things, can’t think things, without their permission.