Salman Rushdie’s stabbing in New York on the 12th of August has once again brought the focus back on Satanic Verses, the book that got Rushdie in so much trouble that he had to live fearing for his life for the past 33 years.
Following the publication of ‘The Satanic Verses’ by Salman Rushdie in September 1988, Islamists were up in arms against the author for committing ‘blasphemy’ and insulting their Faith.
In February 1989, Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, even called upon all Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie. By that time, the ‘secular’ government of Rajiv Gandhi had already banned the book in India.
Following Khomeini’s call for the killing of Rushdie on 14th February 1989, Islamists in India called for a ‘bandh‘ on February 24, 1989, in the city of Mumbai. A large demonstration was held that day.
The frenzied Muslim mob was stopped by cops after they tried to march on the British diplomatic mission, which was in Mumbai at that time. The Islamists were protesting against the protection provided to Salman Rushdie by the British government. The mob of 2000 rioters burnt cars, buses, and motorcycles in South Mumbai and also torched a police station.
They also opened fire at the police. It was then that the cops resorted to retaliatory firing and neutralised 12 Islamists in this process. Similar processions were banned for the rest of the day. A total of 500 Islamists were detained and 800 others were arrested.
One of the Islamists present during the violent protests, Sharfarat Khan, claimed, “It all happened so suddenly. The crowd surged forward, and the police hit them with clubs. There was stone throwing and then gunfire.”
Students in Jamia Millia Islamia intimidate Professor into silence
In May 1992, the student union of the Jamia Milia Islamia created a ruckus on the university premises after a history Professor named Mushirul Hasan demanded lifting the ban on ‘The Satanic Verses.’
The radical students hung his effigy on a pole, with the words ‘Enemy of Islam’ written on it. They even threatened to boycott exams until Hasan resigned from his administrative post.
The controversy began in April of that year when the History Professor published an article in a weekly magazine. He had argued that everyone deserves to be read and heard. Although Mushirul Hasan had conceded that the book was ‘offensive to Muslims’, yet he advocated that the ban on ‘The Satanic Verses’ should be lifted.
Soon after, the ‘protests’ took a violent turn. A mob of Jamia students assaulted a Professor, who was sympathetic to Hasan. While speaking to The Christian Science Monitor, the history Professor lamented, “I have been told not to enter (my) campus or I would be physically assaulted.”
Forced by circumstances, Mushirul Hasan wrote 3 letters and expressed ‘profound regret’ for seeking to un-ban ‘The Satanic Verses.’ He issued a clarification, distancing himself from Salman Rushdie.
Hasan said, “I also wish to assure all concerned that it was not my intention to hurt religious sentiments or to demand the lifting of the ban.” But the radical students at Jamia Millia Islamia remained defiant about his resignation.
Under the garb of secularism, many of them supported the ban on The Satanic Verses. “There is freedom but it is not absolute,” claimed a Muslim student named Mohammed Yunus.
Badruddin Qureshi, who was the student Union President at that time, had tried to create hysteria by claiming that the book would be unbanned. “Then people creating [inter-religious] disturbances will exploit this book,” he had insinuated back then.
The attack on Salman Rushdie
On Friday (August 12), Salman Rushdie was stabbed during an event at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. The man involved in the attack was identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar. A resident of Fairview in New Jersey, Hadi jumped onto the stage and attacked the novelist with a knife.
The accused reportedly had a pass for the event where Rushdie was invited to deliver a lecture. The authorities also seized a backpack, belonging to the accused, from the crime scene. They claimed that the attacker might have been alone and have launched a probe to determine whether that’s the case.
As per a report by New York Times, the local police have sought help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for determining the background and motives of Hadi Matar. Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie informed that he is still in a critical state.
He added that Rushdie was being put on ventilator support and that he could not speak. “The news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed, and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” Wylie said.
The author of ‘The Satanic Verses’ was reportedly provided immediate medical attention by an audience member named Rita Landman. She informed that Salman Rushdie received multiple stab wounds, one to his neck and another to his abdomen.
