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Rushdie fatwa issued 30 years today, is still chilling the freedom of speech

Feb 14, 2019 1:30 pm By Robert Spencer

Cowardice has overtaken the world, and Western political and media elites can’t bow to Sharia fast enough. That’s the legacy of the Rushdie fatwa. When it was first issued, people in the West were indignant, and defended Rushdie. Now it is taken for granted that people must not offend Islam and transgress Sharia blasphemy laws. I chronicle the degrigolade at length in my book The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies).

“The Rushdie Fatwa Chilling Speech 30 Years Later,” by Paul Cliteur, Investigative Project, February 14, 2019:

Thirty years ago, on Feb. 14, 1989, the Iranian cleric and politician Ayatollah Khomeini formulated his famous fatwa against British author Salman Rushdie. He sentenced to death not only the writer of The Satanic Verses (1988) but also “those involved in the publication” of the book; so even publishers and translators. With one stroke of his pen, Khomeini became the originator of a new type of terrorism, theoterrorism. He threatened with violence the citizen of another state with his aim to undermine the central structures of democratic society, freedom of speech. And he did this, according to his own pretense, on divine command and with divine authority (theos = god, so hence theoterrorism).

Since that fateful moment in the history of liberal democratic societies, some sort of asymmetric warfare began between nation-states and networks of terrorist organizations or terrorist “lone wolves.” The world has not yet found any solution for that pernicious problem.

Cartoon wars

Let me give a contemporary example from the American context. On May 3, 2015, two heavily armed theoterrorists, Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, tried to force their way into an American cartoon contest focusing on Islam’s prophet Muhammad in Garland, Texas. After opening fire, both were killed by security personnel. More recently in my own country, the Netherlands, a Dutch cartoon affair started when the Dutch politician Geert Wilders, present during the American cartoon contest, decided to organize his own Muhammad cartoon contest within the precincts of the Dutch Parliament. This proved more difficult than expected. On Aug. 31, 2018, an Afghan national named Jawed S., traveling from Germany and with a German residency permit, stabbed two American tourists in Amsterdam Central Station. He had come deliberately to the Netherlands to carry out his attack because of Wilders’ cartoon contest. He told police that he made the trip because he wanted to avenge four types of offense (or insult) that the cartoon contest committed. First, he noted that the Prophet Mohammed had been insulted. Second, he claimed that the Quran had been insulted. Third, Islam had been insulted. Fourth, Allah had been offended in the Netherlands.

“S.” – Dutch courts do not release defendants’ surnames – is on trial for his act of terrorism. Even before the attack, Wilders decided to cancel the cartoon contest, not because of his own security risk (he is in a 24/7 security program), but for the security of others.

No solution

What do all these events tell us? They say that people noticed Khomeini’s new terrorist tactic, introduced in 1989, and continue to apply it. Liberal democratic societies have, so far, showed no other reaction than giving in to terrorist demands. Thirty years after Khomeini’s fatwa, and 40 years after the Iranian Revolution, we see a long series of (so far failed) appeasement attempts. When Theo van Gogh was killed by a jihadist in 2004, the minister of justice proposed revitalization of blasphemy laws. Most of the Danish cartoonists involved in a 2005 controversy did not speak out about why they published their cartoons. Only one of them does, Kurt Westergaard, and he is in a 24/7 protection program. The cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo are dead, the magazine is on the brink of bankruptcy.

What has not been revealed in the literature on the Rushdie Affair so far (Kenan Malik, Daniel Pipes, Brian Winston, and others), is that it did not start with Rushdie on Feb. 14, 1989, but two years earlier with the Dutch television host Rudi Carrell. Carrell had a show on West German television and was famous for poking fun at politicians. He once included a 14-second gag in 1987 mocking Ayatollah Khomeini that sparked a diplomatic row.

Carrell received police protection after he was threatened. Iran’s ambassador complained that the bit insulted religious feelings of Muslims “all over the world.” He demanded apologies from the West German government.

When Dutch television prepared to broadcast the clip as part of a news program, something unusual happened: Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Hans van den Broek called the Dutch broadcaster trying to convince the host to drop the Khomeini spoof. And with success. The television company did not air the item discussed….

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Filed Under: Featured, free speech Tagged With: Salman Rushdie


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Comments

  1. brane pilot says

    Feb 14, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    The West understands Islam the way a 1 year old child understands brightly colored pieces of rat poison.
    Stop blaming Muslims for the cowardice and stupidity of sociopath leaders you elect.
    Islam has not changed in 1600 years. It will never change. It is the perfection of insect hive mind in humans.
    But you have changed. SInce the 1960s I have watched every step of the way as the West destroyed itself.
    You have abandoned everything that made you something, you prohibit teaching it in your schools any longer, and Islam is simply replacing it.
    Demographically and via terror, if not by logical persuasion.
    But Islam will replace it. It will succeed, in centuries if not decades.
    There is no other contender to Islam except nihilists defecating in the streets, shooting up drugs and pulling down statues.
    You did this to yourselves.
    Stop blaming Muslims.

    • dan christensen says

      Feb 15, 2019 at 8:53 am

      The Elites in the West does not give a damn about islam. The reaction of the Elites in the West to islam is like the reaction of nuns to naked men. They blush, turn their heads away and refuse to accept what they are staring at like hypnotized.
      The Elites in the West have for a long time been committed to total succes of their imbecile muslim invasion project. The commitment of the Elites reveals itself, when we see how the MSM is being forced to defend the idiotic suicidal project.
      No matter how often it is reported by statistics and anti-invasion politicians that the Elite is importing useless wellfare parasites, criminals and religious fanatics – the Elites turn blind and deaf to all facts from life.
      It is shameful that politicians worldwide prefer to lie directly in the media, just to escape accountability. They never answer critical questions, but always deflects the issue by claiming that “the Tone” in any question posed is uncomfortable and rude.

  2. Eur says

    Feb 14, 2019 at 2:30 pm

    Today Salman Rusdhie would not be accepted in the UK as a political refugee. The Islamic world is just as radical or even more than ever, although the West is no longer what it was, there is a large Muslim population and these prevent the West from being a refuge. We have let Islam in and with that we have lost freedom.

  3. somehistory says

    Feb 14, 2019 at 3:01 pm

    Almighty God, our Creator of heaven and earth, gave mankind freedom of speech. When God gives, no human can take away what has been bestowed.

    But, humans can voluntarily give it away. Many have given away their freedom of speech to moslims…and others…demanding it be given.

    The Apostles Peter and John were arrested and told to “Stop speaking about Jesus.” But these two men answered the threats, boldly stating, ” Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you or to God, but as for us, we can not stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.”

    • Westman says

      Feb 15, 2019 at 2:33 am

      Well, you’ve got an interesting point, Eddie. Muhammad or his 7th-8th century creators copied Leviticus ideas with some improvisation and didn’t understand the significance of Christ, at all. The Islam Jesus is unrecognizable, and when challenged about it, they insist the bible is corrupt rather than admit the glaring ignorance of the Quran.

      • gravenimage says

        Feb 15, 2019 at 11:44 pm

        Westman, Muslims were also enraged that Jews were not still stoning adulterers.

  4. gravenimage says

    Feb 14, 2019 at 5:27 pm

    Rushdie fatwa issued 30 years today, is still chilling the freedom of speech
    ………………………

    My husband–then recent boyfriend–and I had heard about the Rushdie Fatwa. I knew the Mullahs were ‘crazy’, so it didn’t surprise me that much–but I had no real idea of how serious it was, or how far reaching its effects would be.

    That weekend we went to browse at Cody’s, a favorite bookstore in Berkeley. We were surprised to find they were closed, and even more shocked to find out why–they had been firebombed, and another device had been found unexploded that would have taken out the whole large store. The window that had been targeted had a full display of The Satanic Verses.

    They bravely reopened, filling every one of their window displays with Rushdie’s book. We bought a copy the first day they were back in business.

    But this, sadly, was one of the comparatively few courageous responses to the Rushdie Fatwa. Many more would cave–and are still doing so in one way or another today.

    Kudos to Robert Spencer that he is not one of them.

    • Rufolino says

      Feb 15, 2019 at 3:55 am

      Yes, Gravenimage, “caving in.”

      Many, if not most young people today would typically respond that the Fatwa was not an outrage against freedom of speech, but Rushdie’s OWN FAULT !

      You MUST respect people’s religious sensibilities ! (Whether these sensibilities offend human rights no longer matters.) .The sickness of “political correctness” .

      • gravenimage says

        Feb 16, 2019 at 12:22 am

        Grimly true, Rufolino.

    • Anne Smith says

      Feb 15, 2019 at 12:46 pm

      One of the most disturbing aspects of the UK response to the fatwa on Rushdie was the pusillanimous reaction of the poorly educated and stupid John Major, Prime Minister of UK.
      When the riots and book burnings began in city centres he was too scared and cowardly to order in the Police and, if necessary, the Army to put down the riots and civil disorder.
      Instead he spent millions of taxpayers money on 24 hour protection for Rushdie, but no arrests were made, no-one was arraigned for civil disorder or rioting. H was too frightened of the Muslim reaction.
      They learned then that they could more or less do as they pleased and no attempt would be made to enforce the law, at least, not against Muslims who were breaking it.

  5. Anjuli Pandavar says

    Feb 14, 2019 at 5:43 pm

    There is a silver lining to this darkening cloud. Muslim cockiness, swagger and expectation of being held in awe that were so evident over the thirty years following 1979, have not disappeared, but are no longer what they once were. Burgeoning Muslim pride was predicated on infidel fear and infidel ignorance.

    Regarding fear, they made the strategic error by starting with the worst they could do: to kill. Where do you go from there? Once people, especially apostates, understood that no matter how little you do against Islam, they’re still going to try to kill you, then it was simply a matter of our building our own confidence. In 1979, no one would dare say that they’ve left Islam. Today the Internet abounds with apostates openly telling their stories, challenging and ridiculing Islam and encouraging others to leave Islam. Moreover, Muslims have even shot themselves in the foot in that many, including myself, want to make sure they do as much damage as possible to Islam before the killers strike. There is a significant and growing portion of the population that simply doesn’t fear them anymore. They really blew that one.

    It takes time to get to the bottom of Islam — years. Up till only a decade ago, Muslims by and large controlled what the rest of us knew about Islam, and took it for granted that thus it will ever be. What they failed to understand, and still fail to understand, is that they’re dealing with opinionated people accustomed to critical thought and individual expression. On the whole, we’re sceptical. We make our own choices. We make our cases and defend our points. We seek second opinions. We do not accept something as true just because someone (or some book) told us so. It actually has to make sense to us. Many Muslims cannot get their heads around this. Former Saudi Shura Council member Ibrahim al-Buleihi had this to say on the subject of the Arab Muslim:

    “He is incapable of independent thinking, and therefore, he always rejects what is rejected by society, and accepts what is accepted by society. It is the spirit of the herd that cannot free itself from the captivity of the prevailing culture.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM_AiYOu4zQ&list=LLkAI4p3DubS6o3gTdlLCn7A&t=0s&index=41 [from 1:19]

    When we were suddenly confronted for the first time with the word ‘fatwa’, our only sources for a quick take on Islam were Muslims. Why would it even have occurred to them that we wouldn’t simply accept what we were told? Critical? Research? Looking for evidence? What? We said thank you and we went away and locked ourselves in the proverbial attic to get to the bottom of what this thing is. Over the last few years, especially, those hermits have reemerged, armed with the evidence. The *baseline* knowledge of Islam is today so much higher than it was in 1979, that many thousands of infidel “citizen scholars” (not even talking about people with PhDs) know Islam better than common Muslims *and are showing them up!* They simply can’t deal with this.

    I find it highly entertaining to see Christians at Speakers Corner reading directly from the Qur’an and the Hadiths while their Muslim “debaters” contrive one disruption after another to avoid facing up to the folly that is their deen. Of course, they can’t just walk away without a face-saving excuse, which is when it gets really funny, because the longer the “debate” drags on, the deeper their embarrassment. The serious point, though, is that not only can Muslims silence infidels on the subject of Islam and Muhammad, they also stand exposed as not knowing their own religion themselves! See, for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfn2ZlZEF-k

    The confidence with which Muslims burst onto the world stage in 1979 is no longer there. The corrosive effects of such developments on Islam’s ability to wage jihad should not be dismissed. At the same time, their Grand Projet of taking over Europe isn’t going quite according to plan, and the gates of Washington that their Trojan President had opened for them is systematically being shut. And if this is not enough, for the very first time in Islam’s 1400-year history, apostasy is now a movement *in Islam’s own heartland*. Certainly, the cloud is dark, but the lining is unmistakably silver. Happy Valentine’s Day, Ruhollah.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 14, 2019 at 5:54 pm

      You are right to some extent–but Muslims have since infiltrated the West in numbers–and positions of influence–undreamt of thirty years ago.

      • Anjuli Pandavar says

        Feb 15, 2019 at 8:04 am

        GI,

        “Certainly, the cloud is dark”

        • gravenimage says

          Feb 16, 2019 at 12:25 am

          +1

    • John McCall says

      Feb 14, 2019 at 8:10 pm

      Brilliant post Anjuli, thank you.

  6. Anjuli Pandavar says

    Feb 14, 2019 at 5:51 pm

    Aaagghh! “…not only can Muslims silence infidels on the subject of Islam and Muhammad” should read “…not only can Muslims *no longer* silence infidels on the subject of Islam and Muhammad…”

  7. mortimer says

    Feb 14, 2019 at 10:17 pm

    Let’s face it … Muslims have about 0.5% jihadists in their midst … about 750,000 actual jihadists worldwide. They are ready to attack the kafirs whom they are motivated to hate according to AUTHENTIC Islamic doctrine (AL WALAA WAL BARAA).

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 14, 2019 at 10:35 pm

      The fact is that all pious Muslims embrace Islam. *Very* few actually condemn Jihad, and even fewer Shari’ah. Even in the West, a majority of Muslims want to impose brutal Shari’ah law on us.

  8. somehistory says

    Feb 15, 2019 at 12:10 am

    Poor little eddie. Thinks he’s so very smart.

    However, he is ignorant on so many things. Including this one.

    If he had read my comment with the understanding he pretends to have on the Bible and its message, he would have known that I did not say that God Himself, Jehovah, could not deny someone to continue speaking “freely.” I wrote that “humans” couldn’t take away the gifts God gives us.
    God can rightly take away any of His gifts…speaking, living….or limit those gifts by His Divine Law as He sees right to do. He can give and He can take away.

    Humans may kill, but Jehovah God can give back the life taken. Humans can cut out tongues, or issue decrees that certain people may no longer speak, or that some words may not be spoken. But humans cannot take away the gifts God gives us; they can only interrupt these gifts from flowing freely….for a limited time.

    Wise up little boy. We all are on to you, to your vain attempts at showing you are smart and all-knowing. If you don’t wish to believe in a Divine Creator, that is your choice. But,it is apparent that you only come to the threads where you can try to ridicule comments that show faith in God and you don’t even try to show you hate the evil of islam.

    So, moslim eddie, your work is foolish and in vain.

  9. bdrileyphilosopher says

    Feb 15, 2019 at 3:57 am

    Within 6 months of his death fatwa Khomeini was dead. Rushdie is still alive 30 years later — Rushdie s Japanese translator was not so lucky. countless Death fatwas have since been issued against those that speak or write out against the religion of the pedophile warlord. The further back in time you go the more Christianity was influenced by the O.T. like Islam still is, so in the 1500 s we had the Pope issuing a death fatwa against ” The Heretic Elizabeth “

  10. gravenimage says

    Feb 16, 2019 at 12:28 am

    A lot of people think that the Fatwa against Rushdie is old news–but it is not:

    “Iranian mullah revives death fatwa against Salman Rushdie over Satanic Verses 25 years after it was issued”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2560683/Iranian-mullah-revives-death-fatwa-against-Salman-Rushdie-Satanic-Verses-25-years-issued.html

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