Fighting Fascism

I've never met Salman Rushdie, but he strikes me as a thoroughly decent man - anyone who can write a book like Midnight's Children has a remarkable imagination - and a great gift for words.

I've never read The Satanic Verses - Salman Rushdie's controversial book on aspects of Islam - but I've decided I'm going to do so now.

Why?

As a small gesture of solidarity and in defiance of all the book burners and potential murderers - most of whom have never read the book of course - who would tear Rushdie limb from limb, if they could.

Just because they have been told by their religious leaders that the author - has blasphemed against Islam.

When the book was first published in 1998 the Ayotollah of Iran issued a fatwah - a religious proclamation that it was just fine for good Muslims to murder Salman Rushdie - as punishment for the words he had written in The Satanic Verses.

Now all I can say to that is 'thank God' that religious zealots were not running the country when 'Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' hit the screens.

Because the result would have been public hangings and executions across the country - from Land's End to John O'Groats.

So I am making a small personal stand of my own - having read the other day that Salman Rushdie had to pull out of literary event in India the other - the Jaipur Literature Festival in Rajasthan - because of threats to his life from Islamic fundamentalists.

Even though the original fatwah was lifted years ago - Salman Rushdie is unable to lead any kind of normal life - and if he appears in public anywhere or even gives notice of his intended appearance - a fascist mob begins to gather to vent their spleen - both physically and via the airwaves and internet.

The men behind this fascist behaviour say that Rushdie can never be forgiven for his blasphemy - that he deserves to die for interpreting or speculating about certain verses from the Koran - because these words are the words of God or Allah.

Now I don't agree with that - nor do I agree that the words in the Bible are the spoken words of God - just as I don't believe that another angel revealed some more God's musings in 1830s America - to Joseph Smith Jnr - which Smith then translated and published as the Book of Mormon.

See post dated 7th November 2011 - Newts, Politics and Religion.

And just because I don't believe in these things - doesn't mean that I should die a horrible, untimely death at the hands of people who would kill me for not sharing - or having the audacity to question - their views.

Recent events in the UK and elsewhere highlight the need to take a stand.

For example, the conviction of several men in England last week for distributing material that encourages homosexuals to be put to death - or the bombings in Nigeria where Islamic fascists want to abolish democracy by imposing Sharia law and an Islamic state.

So as a small act of solidarity I am going to read The Satanic Verses - and let people know what I think.

I've heard it's heavy going, but what the hell - it can't have been as heavy as the life led by Salman Rushdie for the past twenty years.