Salman Rushdie’s controversial novel, The Satanic Verses opens with a bang: the blowing up, by “Sikh terrorists” of Air India Flight 420 from Bombay to London at 29,002 fact over the English Channel. Soon thereafter the narrative unfolds the theme of religious irreverence and fanaticism, the book for most part focused on Islam (besides passing allusions to other religions) and spins out a blasphemous portrait of Prophet Mohammed and his times. Rushdie displays marked insensitivity by coining names and relating indents which bear direct resemblance to the initial Islamic period. Although he avoids using the name of the Prophet he calls one of the main characters as Mahound and actually used names straight from the Holy Quran-Hamza, Ayesha and others. Then there is Jahilia (from the word ignorant; city of and) a Tent of Black stone called The Curtain with 12 prostitutes who have given themselves the names of the 12 wives of Mahound. Moreover, the battles which the prophet had to win in order to convert people are very real in the novel.
The most offensive part of the novel is Gibreel (one of the two persons who survive the plane blast) asking a series of petitioners to deliver Allah’s word. Here the Gibreel Mahound exchanges are based, albeit in an obviously distorted and hallucinatory manner on an episode in the life of the prophet, wherein he first accepted and later repudiated certain verses as satanically inspired.
Salman Rushidie, the highly acclaimed writer of his earlier best sellers like Midnight’s Children and Shame is clearly treading a minefield of controversy this time. His voluminous book (547 pages) published by Viking has evoked a frenzy of international protest and the title has been banned in scores of countries for its subtle vilification of Islam. With few exceptions Muslims have been appalled by the thrust and tenor of the book which contains a mix of Arabian Nights extravaganza and a rather flighty Journey through history covering clash of cultures and individuals and ” fantasized impact on peoples belief and faith.
The author takes upon himself the mocking task of pointing out obvious parallels between sequences of the novel and incidents from the life and times of the Prophet, The novel used allegorical dreams and historical metaphors to examine the thin line between good’ and evil, dogmatism and distortions in perceptions. So enraged are some mistimes that Syed Shahabuddin Member of Parliament says that the book “is a deliberate insult to the holy prophet and an intentional device to outrage religious feelings” of Muslims.
While it is difficult for us to fathom the real motives of Rushdie in creating such and offensive piece of literature, it is certainly insensitive to the religious feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslimsall over the world. The book has already caused riots in several countries and caused the death of scores of people. While we uphold the unfettered right to freedom of expression, works that needlessly create anger and hatred need to be banned. Several countries that have banned the offensive book deserve appreciation. The novel Satanic Verses deserves to be banned speedily. Rushdie is a talented author and a rational man and he should show courage in withdrawing the book voluntarily. What is at stake here is not the right to freedom of expression but volatile religious feelings of 800 million people. Art and literature that caused to kill people is best served by avoiding its creation. As we go to print news has come in that five people have been killed by police firing in Pakistan while protesting against the publication of the book.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 17, 1989
