Note the dishonesty. “Islam subsequently clarified that he was not condoning the killing of Rushdie but simply stating that, in the Koran, blasphemy is punishable by death.” That was then. Now his lawyers have issued a statement that says: “Regardless of the interpretation that was put on his statements in 1989, he does not support […]
Fiction in a Time of Lies
As the “Satanic Verses Affair” was ramping up, an influential Muslim spokesperson approached Salman Rushdie with a request that the author put a notification on the cover of The Satanic Verses that this was a novel, and that the story was fiction and not fact. The disappointed spokesperson later complained that despite his having approached […]
BBC blames Salman Rushdie for Muslims who turned to jihad in rage over his “blasphemous” book
“It all started with the publication of the Satanic Verses and how people pushed me away. That’s why I always say I am one of Rushdie’s children. I was radicalised by white liberals.” So what is the point that the BBC is trying to make? This: if we would all just submit to Sharia blasphemy […]
Rushdie fatwa issued 30 years today, is still chilling the freedom of speech
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. […]
Robert Spencer at Breitbart: From Rushdie to Geller: The Steady Erosion of Free Speech
My latest at Breitbart: When the Islamic Republic of Iran called for his death for insulting Islam, Salman Rushdie became an international hero of free speech. Later defenders of this fundamental freedom, however, have not fared as well, as I show in my new book The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech (and Its Enemies). […]
Those Who Have Differed
“We owe almost all our knowledge not to those who have agreed, but to those who have differed.” — Charles Caleb Colton, 1825 Nothing brings the unpleasant truths of a thing to light as much as the apologetics constructed to conceal them. If it is true that “a crooked tree casts a crooked shadow,” it […]
Salman Rushdie: “Today, I would be accused of Islamophobia and racism”
Indeed he would be. And he also says: “Instead of responding to attacks against freedom of expression, voices were raised to cry blasphemy and propose compromise with terrorism. There is no blasphemy in a democracy.” That’s right as well: as soon as blasphemy laws are enforced, democracy ceases to exist, for those groups that are […]
Denmark: Royal Theater in Copenhagen cancels “Satanic Verses” play to avoid offending Muslims
On September 11, 2001, Mohamed Atta told passengers on the hijacked jetliner racing toward the Twin Towers in New York: “Just stay quiet and you’ll be okay….Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you’ll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet.” Atta’s words are emblematic of the global […]
Salman Rushdie: world learned “wrong lessons” from his Iran fatwa
“The writer said that the controversy that surrounded the PEN prize to Charlie Hebdo this year convinced him that, if the attacks against ‘The Satanic Verses’ had occurred today, ‘these people would not come to my defence and would use the same arguments against me by accusing me of insulting an ethnic and cultural minority.’” […]
Six PEN members protest award to Charlie Hebdo
“If PEN as a free speech organization can’t defend and celebrate people who have been murdered for drawing pictures, then frankly the organization is not worth the name,” Mr. Rushdie said. And for once, he is right. PEN is supposed to oppose censorship and defend the freedom of speech — except, apparently, when to do […]