June 18, 2007
Rushdie Knighting Sparks Outcry
Pakistan and Iran are protesting vociferously after the announcement over the weekend that controversial novelist Salman Rushdie was to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
The lower house of the Pakistani parliament passed a resolution today condemning the knighthood, calling it an insult to Muslims worldwide. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan Khan Niazi, who introduced the resolution, referred to Rushdie as a "blasphemer." Religious Affairs Minister Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq was initially quoted as saying the knighthood would justify terror attacks against the West, but he later insisted his statement had been mistranslated.
In the city of Multan, protesters took to the streets and burned effigies of both Rushdie and the queen.
Iran was the first country to register its outrage, with a statement on Sunday from a Foreign Ministry spokesman: "Awarding a person who is among the most detested characters in the Islamic society is obvious proof of anti-Islamism by ranking British officials." One Islamic organization within Iran has now placed a $150,000 price on Rushdie's head.
Rushdie, an Indian-born Briton, was in hiding for nine years after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a "fatwa" against him over passages in his novel "The Satanic Verses" that some characterized as blasphemous to Islam. Iran withdrew its support for the fatwa in 1998, allowing Rushdie to resurface, but as the current furor demonstrates, in some ways the fatwa is alive and well.
An official from another Muslim country suggested to CBS News that domestic politics may prompt other countries to join in the protests: "For any pro-Western government in a Muslim country, it's very difficult not to take a strong public position on this issue," the official said. "With the public already skeptical of their governments' close ties to the U.S., Islamic countries must come out strongly condemning this."
Photo: Ken Conley
Posted at 4:50 PM
Posted to:
Asia, Iran, Middle East, Pakistan, U.K.
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