Woooooow! What the
fuck? Just read
this story on CNN, which, as a writer (and a sane human being) makes me crazy.
The highlights: Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses was published almost twenty years ago. Rushdie, an internationally acclaimed author, was decried as an enemy of Islam, because of controversial passages relating to the Muslim religion in the book. One of the problem's with the media's coverage of this current conflict is that at no point do the reporters go over what's controversial about the book. Now, as I'm an unpaid blogger and not a professional journalist, I don't have time to read the thing, but a cursory check over the book's wiki page tells me that the main section that offended Muslims was a passage in which, in the "disturbed mind of Farishta," Rushdie depicts a "half-magic dream narrative" that is a "re-narration" of the prophet Mohammed's life.
Now, my fiancee is the religion major, not I, but apparently this re-imagining contains some theological ideas about the origins of the Q'uran that have enraged Muslims. Again: no time, no money, no heavy research from me. Sad to say the info above is lacking from any new source I've read.
So: the book is published in 1988. Soon after it's banned in a few countries. Lame, but whatever. Early 1989, people begin rioting. Lame, but still, whatever. Then, on February 14, 1989, while Western society was celebrating Valentine's day, Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran politically and religiously, issues a fatwah on Rushdie's ass, calling for the execution not just of Rushdie, but of everyone involved with the publication of the book.
The rantings of a lunatic? The Japanese translator is stabbed to death less than two years later. The Italian and Norwegian translators barely survive assassination attempts. Bookstores in Berkeley and England are firebombed. 37 Turkish intellectuals are killed when a hotel they're in is burned to the ground by 2,000 protesters of the book's Turkish translator. Dozens more are killed in anti-Rushdie rioting across the globe. Various bounties on his head swell to millions of dollars. Stores in America even cave and stop carrying it. Cat Stevens supposedly says he'd inform on Rushdie were the man to show up on his doorstep.
Over time, things quiet down. A few days ago, Britain announces that Rushdie will be given the title of knighthood. The world goes apeshit. Iran condemns the decision, and (in the linked article above) some members of Pakistan's government see this as a justification for suicide bombing. By "this" I of course mean the awarding of a three letter title, sir, to a middle aged man in recognition of the thousands of words he's written during his illustrious career.
It. Is. A. Book. It's a fucking book! I truly believe that the line between words and action is the line of sanity. That when people take things that are written, ideas, stories, and react so strongly to them that they are moved to
physical violence, that's when it's hard to truly call them human beings. I am not the kind of person who condemns "all Muslims" when the crazies rear their head, but holy shit, have they reared their ugly heads on this one.
Labels: Generalness, Save the Books
