Knighthood of Salman Rushdie
Encyclopedia
In mid-June 2007 Salman Rushdie, British Indian
novelist and author of controversial novel The Satanic Verses
, was created a Knight Bachelor
by HM Queen Elizabeth II
. This action brought much controversy around the world in many countries with Muslim majority populations
. Soon after the news of the knighthood was released protests against the honour were held in Malaysia and in Pakistan
where effigies of the writer were publicly burnt. On 19 June 2007, governments in both Pakistan and Iran
summoned their British ambassadors to officially protest against the award. While many groups and individuals have renewed the call to execute Rushdie, the author "is not commenting on the latest threats to his life. It is understood he is anxious not to inflame the situation”. When asked by the Associated Press
if his silence was at the request of the British government, Rushdie replied by e-mail stating "The British authorities have not asked me to do or not do anything. I have simply chosen to remain out of this storm for the moment. And nobody is turning anything down." The media noted in July 2007 that Rushdie "has not been seen in public since the 16 June announcement of his knighthood." However, he was photographed receiving his knighthood formally the next year at a ceremony which, breaking with tradition, did not announce in advance his attendance.
for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours
on 16 June 2007. He remarked, "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way." His knighthood was part of the UK’s twice a year honours ritual “designed to recognise outstanding achievement -- is part of an ancient and complex honours system.” Rushdie’s award was concurrent with 946 honours which included 21 knighthoods. The knighthood list was determined by independent committees that vet nominations from the government and the public. The Queen and the Prime Minister only had a ceremonial role in approving them.
The arts and media committee (one of eight similar committees) proposed Rushdie’s honour to the main committee who then forwarded it with others to the prime minister. The arts and media committee was chaired by investment banker and former chairman of the trustees of the National Gallery
, Lord Rothschild
. Its other members were "Jenny Abramsky
, the BBC
's director of radio and music; novelist and poet Ben Okri
, who is vice-president of the English chapter of PEN International
, which campaigns on behalf of writers who face persecution; Andreas Whittam Smith
, former editor of the Independent
; John Gross
, the author and former theatre critic of the Sunday Telegraph
; and two permanent secretaries
, one from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
and one from the Scottish Government." Smith told reporters that the question of political outrage was not one they were authorized to examine, "Very properly, we were concerned only with merit in relation to the level of the award." All other aspects were to for the main committee to examine. The British Foreign Office
which has a permanent secretary on the main committee announced that there had been no requests to gauge possible Muslim reaction to the knighthood. It was noted that Rushdie's 13 books have won numerous awards, including the Booker Prize for Midnight's Children
in 1981, the Booker of Bookers prize, the Whitbread novel award (twice), and the James Tait Black memorial prize.
PEN International had been a constant supporter of Rushdie being honoured, believing that awarding the author (born in India) would be “seen as a positive step in British-Asian relations.” The director of their London chapter, Nathan Heawood said the group was shocked at the negative reaction, adding "The honour is for services to literature and a very belated recognition that he is a world writer, who was in the vanguard of a writing tradition that exploded in the 80s in South Asia. It seems a shame that a few lines in his fourth novel should have turned him into this hate figure. He has become a Guy Fawkes
figure to be thrown on a bonfire whenever it suits a government to divert attention from what is happening in their own countries."
In response to criticism of the award by some foreign nations, the British government stated that Rushdie's honour recognizes free speech and is part of their "desire to honour Muslims in the British community." British Home Secretary
John Reid
also defended the award saying that the UK has "a set of values that accrues people honours for their contribution to literature even when they don't agree with our point of view. That's our way and that's what we stand by." Speaking about the reaction to The Satanic Verses
Reid insisted that allowing such works was not a plot targeting Islam, saying "A lot of people were upset when John Cleese
made Life of Brian. Others had been offended by Mel Gibson
's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ. ...[Britons] have a right to express opinions and a tolerance of other people's point of view, and we don't apologise for that." In a similar light John Sutherland, emeritus professor of literature and former Booker prize judge, noted that Islam was not the only institution held up for criticism by Rushdie in his most controversial book. He pointed out that “For the writer of The Satanic Verses, which was extremely rude about England, it's certainly unusual [to be so honoured].”
Rushdie was ultimately knighted in an investiture
ceremony on 25 June 2008 which formalised his standing as a Knight Bachelor
.
, was summoned to appear before the Iranian Foreign Ministry where he was told by Foreign Ministry director Ebrahim Rahimpour that "This insulting, suspicious and improper act by the British government is an obvious example of fighting against Islam." The ministry also qualified the honour as rewarding "a hated apostate" and declared it Islamophobic
. Ambassador Adams was told that the knighthood was seen as a “‘provocative act’ which angered one and a half billion Muslims worldwide.” Adams insisted that “the honour was given for Rushdie's services for literature and should therefore not be regarded as insult.”
vice speaker of the Majlis of Iran
, told the nation’s parliament that the knighthood “has hurt the feelings of more than 1.5 billion Muslims” and that "Salman Rushdie has turned into a hated corpse which cannot be resurrected by any action. The action by the British queen in knighting Salman Rushdie, the apostate, is an unwise one. The British monarch lives under this illusion that Britain is still a 19th century superpower and that bestowing titles is something still deemed important." The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini told reporters that "Awarding a person who is one of the most hated figures in the Islamic world is a clear sign of the anti-Islamic stance of high-ranking British officials. …[It proves desecration of Islamic values in the West] is totally organised and done with the support and under the direction of those countries."
On Sunday 24 June 2007 Gholamali Haddadadel, the Iranian speaker of parliament spoke against the honour on state television. He said “The latest act of the British government was shameless and imprudent and can not be interpreted to anything but blind hostility and absolute brainlessness. The Muslims of the world will not leave this imprudent and shameless act without response.”
In an interview with Sky News Grand Ayatollah Yusef Saanei said "This act of the Queen is a very, very vast action against Islam." He said "Apart from the fact that this issue insults all the religions of the world, this will also give a pretext to the terrorists. The terrorists can use this as a pretext to do something against (Britain). ...When your Queen awards Salman Rushdie and turns him into a knight, what do you expect? This is a blasphemy. This is an insult to all the prophets of the world."
Ahmad Khatami
spoke to worshipers by broadcast on state radio from Tehran. He addressed the death sentence issued by Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini
against Rushdie, saying "In the Islamic Iran that revolutionary fatwa of Imam [Khomeini] is still alive and cannot be changed." He went on to say that "The old and decrepit government of Great Britain should know that the era of their empire is over and today they are a valet in the service of the United States." While in 1998 the Iranian government (under British diplomatic pressure) declared it would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie," many clerics like Khatami rejected the move. Even soon after the government's disavowel , the Iranian press reported three clerics calling on their followers to kill Rushdie, stating that the fatwa was irrevocable. As late as January 2005 Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
announced that “he still believed the British novelist was an apostate whose killing would be authorized by Islam.”
Iranian newspapers have been covering the story extensively viewing both Rushdie and the British government in a negative light. One example is a the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper which reflecting on Queen Elizabeth II said, "The question is what the old British crone sought by knighting Rushdie: to help him? Well, her act only shortens Rushdie's pathetic life."
On 25 June 2007 foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was confronted by the local media on why Iran's position against the knighthood was more moderate when compared to other Muslim nations especially that of nearby Pakistan (see below). Hosseini noted that not only had he immediately condemned the knighthood as Islamophobia, but in a seeming reversal of his nation's previous stand said "The stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to this issue has not changed from what was put forward by Imam Khomeini." In a similar statement Parliamentarian for Tehran, Mehdi Kuchakzadeh, said "Rushdie died the moment the late Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini) issued the fatwa."
Also on the 25th, Alaeddin Boroujerdi
, the head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission appeared with his Norwegian counterpart (Olaf Akselsson) to respond to Norway
’s request for a cancellation of the death fatwa. Boroujerdi stated that the "Late Imam Khomeini's decree on Salman Rushdie is eternal and irrevocable. Honoring religious sanctities is necessary and all societies must respect this. All countries have a red line in their policies. For instance, in spite of freedom of speech a university professor and a political figure loses his job because of denying the Holocaust
in Europe, insulting Muhammad has caused the late Imam to issue the decree which is irreversible. Addressing the talks with Norway over human rights, he went on to say that reports of human rights abuses in Iran were the work of “MKO
terrorist groups…so such wrong information would [naturally] cause wrong judgment…[Continuing diplomatic travel between Iran and Europe] would show the realities of Iran and would correct [the] unreal attitude of the West on Iran."
On 29 June 2007 Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati
delivering Friday prayers over state run radio said he "hoped that the late Imam Khomeini's 1989 fatwa in sentencing the apostate writer to death will go in effect." He also spoke about the knighthood saying that "The result of such an act of Britain is its turning into [the] bete noire of the world nations. These measures are the reason the US and Britain have become the most hated states in the world's developed camp." He also called on the people of Iraq and Lebanon "to be vigilant against the arrogant powers' divisive plots."
and other cities" with some of the protestors calling on their government "to expel the British high commissioner".
passed a resolution condemning the knighthood and demanding the British revoke it. The resolution was passed unanimously.
, made an address to the parliament which was carried by local television stations. Haq said that "insults to Islam were at the root of terrorism", and that "if someone committed a suicide bombing to protect the honour of the Prophet Mohammad, his act was justified." He called on all Muslim governments to break ties with Britain and warned that "This is an occasion for the [world's] 1.5 billion Muslims to look at the seriousness of this decision. If Muslims do not unite, the situation will get worse and Salman Rushdie may get a seat in the British parliament." When asked about his comments about suicide bombing later Haq stated that he "did not mean such attacks would be justified but was merely saying militants could use the knighthood as a justification." Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto
condemned the minister's comments, seeing them as a call to assassinate Rushdie, she said "The minister... son of a previous military dictator (Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq) who had patronised [Islamic] extremist groups, had done a great disservice both to the image of Islam and the standing of Pakistan by calling for the murder of foreign citizens." The speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly expunged Haq's speech from the official record, citing the national interest. Abdul Rashid Ghazi
, who ran the hardline Red Mosque
in Islamabad, responded to Haq's initial comments saying "Salman Rushdie deserves to be killed and anyone who has the power must kill him."
After Pakistan's legislature passed its resolution against the honour, the road outside the parliament building was soon blocked by 300 burqa
wearing female Islamists waving flags and placards against the knighthood.
, Robert Brinkley, was called in by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and told that “Salman Rushdie has been a controversial figure who is known less for his literary contribution and more for his offensive and insulting writing which deeply hurts the sentiments of Muslims all over the world. Conferment of a knighthood on Salman Rushdie shows an utter lack of sensitivity on the part of the British government.” They also told him that Rushdie's knighthood is a breach of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1624
, which calls on all member states to "enhance dialogue and broaden understanding...[to prevent] the indiscriminate targeting of religions and cultures". Responding to the summons Ambassador Brinkley said “that the honour was not meant to offend Muslims”. He also voiced Britain’s "deep concern" at the comments by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq
about suicide bombers telling them that "nothing can justify suicide bomb attacks". Haq later announced that he hoped to go to Britain soon to help "clear misunderstandings". Haq then announced he will be travelling to London with a delegation to discuss ways of engaging Muslim clerics. The British Foreign Office declared that there was no official visit with Haq scheduled but "It's not a matter for us if he is making a private visit."
Later Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam announced that her government formally asked the Organization of the Islamic Conference (a permanent delegation at the United Nations) to take a clear stance on Rushdie's knighthood. She said "We have formally approached the OIC to take a position on it," but she also noted that as there was no procedure to move the world body itself, her nation had no plans to approach the UN.
provincial assembly reflecting on the knighthood said "blasphemers should be killed, I will murder a blasphemer if he comes across me.", and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
, president of Pakistan's ruling party
, accused UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
of being "personally and mentally against Islam". Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the chief minister of Sindh
province, said his outrage at the knighthood was causing him to return medals won by his grandfather and other relatives when the country was under UK colonial rule back to the British High Commission. Speaking during a trip to Washington D.C. Pakistan's foreign minister, Khurshid Kasuri, said that “Britain could not have been surprised by the outrage.”
In Karachi over a thousand demonstrators chanted in support of Ejaz-ul-Haq’s initial comments that they held to be an endorsement of Rushdie’s assassination by suicide bombing. In the city of Multan, the British flag, and effigies of Rushdie and Queen Elizabeth II have been set aflame during protests in the country throughout the week of the news of the announcement with protestors chanting "Kill him! Kill him!" There were also mass protests in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, and Peshawar.
called for Rushdie’s execution saying "Whosoever kills him will be the hero of Muslims."
Canadian author and Muslim Irshad Manji
pointed out that Pakistan's Parliament has been silent on Islamist "assaults on fellow believers" in Iraq and Afghanistan, writing "I am offended that amid the internecine carnage, a professed atheist named Salman Rushdie tops the to-do list."
Council bestowed Osama bin Laden
with the title "Saifullah", or sword of Allah. Their chairman, Tahir Ashrafi, said "We have awarded this title in reply to Britain's decision to knight blasphemer Rushdie. If a blasphemer can be given the title 'Sir' by the West despite the fact he's hurt the feelings of Muslims, then a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British must be given the lofty title of Islam, Saifullah."
opposition party led a protest to the British High Commission calling for the honour to be revoked. The protestors chanted "Destroy Salman Rushdie, Destroy Britain!" and "Go to hell, Britain! Go to hell, Rushdie!" The PAS' treasurer, Hatta Ramli, said making Rushdie a knight "has tainted the whole knighthood, the whole hall of fame of the British system. The British government must be responsible because it has created a sudden feeling of anger not just on Salman Rushdie but on the British government. They have to bear the consequences." After the "rare half-hour demonstration" the PAS members delivered a one-page memorandum to the British envoy written by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang. It read, "In the name of peace and mutual respect, we demand the award be withdrawn, and the British government distance itself from a provocateur like Salman Rushdie."
On 29 June 2007 following Friday prayers the Muslim fundamentalist PAS Party again lead a march of around 300 activists outside the UK and US embassies in Kuala Lumpur
. They denounced both the knighthood and US policy in the Middle East. They were monitored by riot police equipped with trucks carrying water canons but the event did not descend into violence. The "Protesters spent 15 minutes outside the building, chanting slogans and waving posters that read 'Unite for Islam', 'Death penalty for Salman' and 'Salman Rushdie Get Lost From This World.'" One placard had a caricature of Rushdie with horns growing out of his head. At the 20 minute rally outside the US embassy they shouted "Down with Bush!" and "Crush America!" The PAS spokesman at the demonstration said America was "trying to dominate Muslim countries" and was interfering "all over the world."
's Taliban released a statement on the Internet in response to the knighthood, saying "We hope that Muslims and Islamic societies show a strong and serious response ... and to force the British government to apologise to Muslims and retract this title." Reading a statement by the group's leadership over the phone to reporters a Taliban spokesman called Rushdie an "apostate" and said "We consider this another major affront to Islam by the infidels." The US-installed Afghan government made no comment on the award.
stated its "disappointment and discontent" on the knighthood describing the step as "hurting Muslim feelings." The Assembly's statement said that "such measures as knighting those who combat the Islamic faith and challenge its principles do not create a positive climate or contribute to the success of any dialogue between civilizations, or help to create a common ground of understanding between the West and the Islamic world. ...[Bestowing the honour was] "provocative and unbecoming conduct that is likely to worsen the fundamentalist behavior that marks several cultures." They stated that "mutual respect among religious faiths and sects" was the best way "to ensure a peaceful and safe international social climate, which is free of discrimination, tension and worries." The Kuwaiti government also summoned their British ambassador to formally protest against the award.
declaring that "To honour someone who has offended the Muslim religion is a bigger error still than the publication of caricatures attacking the Prophet Mohammed."
, stated that "such measures can be the cause of the strengthening aggression of the West against Islam. They provoke Muslims. Muslims should be very careful, watchful and cold-blooded." The Azerbaijani government has not issued any statements on the matter and there have been no organized protests.
's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
was in London
meeting with Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett
when the news of Rushdie’s knighthood broke. Zebari said that while he “respected the right of Britain to decide who received the honour…the decision could be used to cause trouble. For my government, we share the views of many Muslims. Iraq is a Muslim country. We believe that, with all due respect to the knighthood, I think it was untimely. This is my view. I don't have any official position from my government on this issue, but I think it would be used by many quarters to exploit this issue outside this country." The Iraqi government has taken no official position on the matter and there have been no protests about it there. Speaking with Zebari, Beckett said "Obviously we are sorry if there are people who have taken very much to heart this honour, which is after all for a lifelong body of literary work." She also pointed out that Rushdie was among many Muslims who had been awarded by the British honours system – a fact that "may not be realized by many of those who have been vocal in their opposition."
, Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh the head of the Wahid Institute (and the daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid
) condemned both the knighthood and calls for retaliation. She felt the honour was undeserved "We deeply regret and strongly criticize it because the book is not at all praiseworthy.” She said that though she “regretted Rushdie's action of selling his religion to get popularity, nobody had the right to revoke his right to exercise freedom of speech. We cannot revoke his right to express his views. Even those who do not believe in God have rights. They cannot be punished or killed or subjected to arbitrary acts. Islam does not teach violence." Moeslim Abdurrahman an Islamic scholar from the Muhammadiyah organisation, called on his nation to mediate between the UK and the Muslim world, adding "Indonesia needs to reduce (tension) and not to complicate the matter. If Indonesia also gets angry it will contribute nothing."
over the knighthood, including one in Kanpur led by the AJ Fareedi Association denouncing Britain and chanting slogans against Rushdie. The Islamic Centre of India began a petition campaign with the end result to be handing over a banner to the British High Commissioner in New Delhi
covered with thousands of signatures. The centre's general secretary, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangimahli, announced in his Friday sermon that by honouring Rushdie the UK "has acted against the whole Muslim community around the world." He demanded the Indian government alert Britain of their outrage. The leaders of the Sunni Board of India also condemned the move in a Friday meeting, likewise they demanded the Indian government express their anger to the British.
The Ulema
Council of India said "the decision to honor Indian-born Rushdie reflects the anti-Islamic attitude of the British government." Its spokesmen, Maulana Abul Hasan, stated "Salman Rushdie is a detested figure among Muslims. The British government has hurt Muslim feelings by honoring a person who is facing a fatwa for blasphemous writings." On Sunday 24 June 2007 the Ulema Council joined with the Islamic Center of India, and the All India Sunni Board in sending a joint statement to the British High Commission in New Delhi condemning the knighthood.
Lord Ahmed of Rotherham
, a senior Labour
Muslim peer, appealed to ministers to put the award on hold and told them that British Muslim business owners were attempting to organise a nationwide strike over the matter. Ahmed said "I would urge and plead with all Muslims around the world to remain calm." He also stated his belief that Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses
was also an insult to Christianity and had put "Her Majesty the Queen in a very difficult position". “Actually I was appalled to hear that Salman Rushdie had been given a knighthood, particularly when this man has been very divisive. This man - as you can see - not only provoked violence around the world because of his writings, but there were many people that were killed around the world and honouring the man who has blood on his hands, sort of because of what he did, honouring him I think is going a bit too far.”
Conservative
MP Stewart Jackson
(the chairman of the all-party group on Pakistan) spoke against the honour, "We do not need a situation where we are gratuitously offending our allies in the fight against terror. I think the prime minister's office should think very carefully about that decision."
The head of the House of Commons
Labour party leader Jack Straw
, said he sympathized with "the concerns and sensitivity in the [Muslim] community... [but there could be] no justification whatever for suggestions that as a result of this a further fatwa should be placed on the life of Mr Rushdie".
Officials at the Cabinet Office
denied charges that the honours vetting committees had failed to consider the wider implications knighting Rushdie. One Labour MP speaking to reporters off the record noted that a week before Gordon Brown
becomes Prime Minister the award "reinforces the impression that nobody's in control. Anybody with any common sense would have blocked this."
Conservative home affairs spokesman David Davis stated "Whatever you think of the work of Salman Rushdie, freedom of speech is a fundamental freedom in this country. What is more, the sovereign's choice of who she wishes to honour will never be the subject of intimidation."
Tessa Jowell who was Culture Secretary at the time of the knighthood's announcement told reporters that "Salman Rushdie was recognised in the recent honours as one of this country's outstanding writers. In times when terrorist threats beset the way of life in this country and the way of life in this country is being attacked by terrorists, standing up for free speech and freedom of speech is ever more important."
mosque denouncing Rushdie’s knighthood, “noisily renewing calls for his death”, and burning a poster of the British flag. They addressed worshippers leaving Friday services and soon had attracted a crowd of over 100 people. The demonstrators chanted "Death to Rushdie! Death to the queen!” and had signs with slogans such as "Salman Rushdie should be punished, not praised." Protest organiser Anjem Choudray (an ex-head of the British wing of the banned radical group al-Muhajiroun
and helped co-ordinate the protests over the Jyllands-Posten cartoons
) said "This knighthood is just another example of Tony Blair and his government's attempts to secularize Muslims and reward apostates. Rushdie is a hate figure across the Muslim world. This honour will have ramifications here and across the world. The awards pass across his (Blair's) desk and he could easily have blocked it, knowing it would offend Muslims everywhere." He pointed to the protests in Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia as proof that the outcry was growing. Another protestor told reporters "We've come to demonstrate against the apostate Salman Rushdie. He has insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Salman Rushdie is the devil. We have a responsibility - he should be punished, he should be attacked. We should not be afraid of the kuffar
. They say Tony Blair is going to be sent to the Middle East as a peace envoy. We hope he comes back in a box."
The director general's staff at the Mosque distanced themselves from the protestors, saying "We do not sanction this protest or the views they are expressing."
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui
, leader of the Muslim Parliament
, condemned the protest saying "This is unacceptable behaviour which the majority of Muslims in this country would not support. There's no denying a large section of the Muslim community feel very hurt about this issue. But having expressed your anger and frustration you've got to move forward. Unfortunately there will always be some strange lunatics, like in any community, who give others a bad name."
Fiona Mactaggart
the MP for Slough
upset some British Muslims by declaring the protest over the knighthood a "press stunt". Members of Slough's Muslim community claim she ignored them when they tried to present a petition to her at the surgery
with constituents. She claims in turn that they neither contacted her nor tried to approach her at the surgery.
The Muslim Council of Europe called for a mass demonstration outside Blackburn Town Hall on 21 July 2007.
released a statement saying they were "disturbed at the deliberate political decision to confer a knighthood to Salman Rushdie...[who] caused deep hurt to Muslims everywhere." They characterized the honour as a "deliberate provocation". They offered suggestions to mosques and Islamic groups in the UK urging their fellow Muslims to "face provocation with dignity and wisdom" when protesting the knighthood and "resist efforts by fringe elements in the community to exploit disappointment felt at the award." They wrote “We should not allow the situation to be inflamed in any way or be exploited by other unsavory groups so as to bring our community and our noble faith into disrepute.” They called for Muslims to "convey their feelings on the matter through letters to their parliamentary representatives and through local and national media...[and to take the] opportunity to correct the maligning of the character of the prophet in the book which earned its author his notoriety."
Muhammad Abdul Bari
, the Muslim Council’s secretary-general, said “Salman Rushdie earned notoriety amongst Muslims for the highly insulting and blasphemous manner in which he portrayed early Islamic figures. The granting of a knighthood to him can only do harm to the image of our country in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world. Many will interpret the knighthood as a final contemptuous parting gift from Tony Blair to the Muslim world.”
officials said the “angry reaction to Rushdie's knighthood meant that a new threat assessment would have to be drawn up for him.” He is also likely to “be given fresh advice on the precautions he takes abroad, and the unit around him in Britain is likely to be upgraded.”
occurred CBS News
on 29 June 2007 reported that a message appeared on the widely used militant Internet forum
Al-Hesbah
at 08:09, 28 June 17 hours before the first car bomb was discovered. It read
On 12 July 2007 The Times of India
claimed "It was knighthood to writer Salman Rushdie, which has angered many radical Islamic groups, that forced alleged bomber Kafeel Ahmed
to execute the Glasgow airport attack
. Investigators have stumbled upon this while gathering details about his transformation from a devout student to a radical." The report did not provide any further details or name the investigators.
have also condemned the Rushdie honour. In a 20-minute audio recording entitled "Malicious Britain and its Indian Slaves" which was released onto a militant Islamic website, Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri
condemned British involvement in Afghanistan, and Iraq and called Rushdie's knighthood "an insult to Islam". He went on to remark "I say to (Queen) Elizabeth and (former prime minister Tony) Blair that your message has reached us and we are in the process of preparing for you a precise response". Concerning the recording the British Foreign Office stated "The Government has already made clear that Rushdie’s honour was not intended as an insult to Islam or the Prophet Muhammad." Prime Minister Gordon Brown replied to the threat saying "Nothing can justify either threats to the United Kingdom or any form of terrorist activity and it must be the right of the United Kingdom to make its own decisions on all these issues."
British Indian
The term British Indian refers to citizens of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in India. This includes people born in the UK who are of Indian descent, and Indian-born people who have migrated to the UK...
novelist and author of controversial novel The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
, was created a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
by HM Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. This action brought much controversy around the world in many countries with Muslim majority populations
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
. Soon after the news of the knighthood was released protests against the honour were held in Malaysia and in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
where effigies of the writer were publicly burnt. On 19 June 2007, governments in both Pakistan and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
summoned their British ambassadors to officially protest against the award. While many groups and individuals have renewed the call to execute Rushdie, the author "is not commenting on the latest threats to his life. It is understood he is anxious not to inflame the situation”. When asked by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
if his silence was at the request of the British government, Rushdie replied by e-mail stating "The British authorities have not asked me to do or not do anything. I have simply chosen to remain out of this storm for the moment. And nobody is turning anything down." The media noted in July 2007 that Rushdie "has not been seen in public since the 16 June announcement of his knighthood." However, he was photographed receiving his knighthood formally the next year at a ceremony which, breaking with tradition, did not announce in advance his attendance.
Knighthood
Rushdie was awarded a knighthoodKnight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
on 16 June 2007. He remarked, "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way." His knighthood was part of the UK’s twice a year honours ritual “designed to recognise outstanding achievement -- is part of an ancient and complex honours system.” Rushdie’s award was concurrent with 946 honours which included 21 knighthoods. The knighthood list was determined by independent committees that vet nominations from the government and the public. The Queen and the Prime Minister only had a ceremonial role in approving them.
The arts and media committee (one of eight similar committees) proposed Rushdie’s honour to the main committee who then forwarded it with others to the prime minister. The arts and media committee was chaired by investment banker and former chairman of the trustees of the National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
, Lord Rothschild
Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild
Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, Bt, OM, GBE, FBA is a British investment banker and a member of the prominent Rothschild family of bankers...
. Its other members were "Jenny Abramsky
Jenny Abramsky
Dame Jennifer Gita Abramsky, DBE is chairman of the UK's National Heritage Memorial Fund . The NHMF makes grants to preserve heritage of outstanding national importance. Until her retirement from the BBC Jenny Abramsky was its most senior woman employee; she was Director of Audio and Music...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's director of radio and music; novelist and poet Ben Okri
Ben Okri
Ben Okri OBE FRSL is a Nigerian poet and novelist. Okri has become the leading figure of his generation of Nigerian writers who have largely abandoned the social and historical themes of Chinua Achebe, and brought together modernist narrative strategies and Nigerian oral and literary...
, who is vice-president of the English chapter of PEN International
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
, which campaigns on behalf of writers who face persecution; Andreas Whittam Smith
Andreas Whittam Smith
Andreas Whittam Smith CBE is an English financial journalist, who was one of the founders of The Independent newspaper which began publication in October 1986 with Whittam Smith as editor...
, former editor of the Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
; John Gross
John Gross
John Gross FRSL was an eminent English author, anthologist, literary and theatrical critic. The Spectator magazine called Gross “the best-read man in Britain”, as did The Guardian...
, the author and former theatre critic of the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
; and two permanent secretaries
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
, one from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
and one from the Scottish Government." Smith told reporters that the question of political outrage was not one they were authorized to examine, "Very properly, we were concerned only with merit in relation to the level of the award." All other aspects were to for the main committee to examine. The British Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
which has a permanent secretary on the main committee announced that there had been no requests to gauge possible Muslim reaction to the knighthood. It was noted that Rushdie's 13 books have won numerous awards, including the Booker Prize for Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children is a 1981 book by Salman Rushdie about India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of India. It is considered an example of postcolonial literature and magical realism...
in 1981, the Booker of Bookers prize, the Whitbread novel award (twice), and the James Tait Black memorial prize.
PEN International had been a constant supporter of Rushdie being honoured, believing that awarding the author (born in India) would be “seen as a positive step in British-Asian relations.” The director of their London chapter, Nathan Heawood said the group was shocked at the negative reaction, adding "The honour is for services to literature and a very belated recognition that he is a world writer, who was in the vanguard of a writing tradition that exploded in the 80s in South Asia. It seems a shame that a few lines in his fourth novel should have turned him into this hate figure. He has become a Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
figure to be thrown on a bonfire whenever it suits a government to divert attention from what is happening in their own countries."
In response to criticism of the award by some foreign nations, the British government stated that Rushdie's honour recognizes free speech and is part of their "desire to honour Muslims in the British community." British Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
John Reid
John Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
also defended the award saying that the UK has "a set of values that accrues people honours for their contribution to literature even when they don't agree with our point of view. That's our way and that's what we stand by." Speaking about the reaction to The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
Reid insisted that allowing such works was not a plot targeting Islam, saying "A lot of people were upset when John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
made Life of Brian. Others had been offended by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ. ...[Britons] have a right to express opinions and a tolerance of other people's point of view, and we don't apologise for that." In a similar light John Sutherland, emeritus professor of literature and former Booker prize judge, noted that Islam was not the only institution held up for criticism by Rushdie in his most controversial book. He pointed out that “For the writer of The Satanic Verses, which was extremely rude about England, it's certainly unusual [to be so honoured].”
Rushdie was ultimately knighted in an investiture
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
ceremony on 25 June 2008 which formalised his standing as a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
.
Ambassador summoned
On 19 June 2007, British Ambassador Geoffrey AdamsGeoffrey Adams
Sir Geoffrey Doyne Adams KCMG is a member of the British Diplomatic Service. He was Ambassador to Iran from April 1, 2006 until March 2009...
, was summoned to appear before the Iranian Foreign Ministry where he was told by Foreign Ministry director Ebrahim Rahimpour that "This insulting, suspicious and improper act by the British government is an obvious example of fighting against Islam." The ministry also qualified the honour as rewarding "a hated apostate" and declared it Islamophobic
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
. Ambassador Adams was told that the knighthood was seen as a “‘provocative act’ which angered one and a half billion Muslims worldwide.” Adams insisted that “the honour was given for Rushdie's services for literature and should therefore not be regarded as insult.”
Politicians protest
Also on the 19th, Mohammad Reza BahonarMohammad Reza Bahonar
Mohammad-Reza Bahonar was the conservative First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Iran. He is a representative from Kerman.In previous parliaments, he has been elected as a representative from Kerman and Tehran...
vice speaker of the Majlis of Iran
Majlis of Iran
The National Consultative Assembly of Iran , also called The Iranian Parliament or People's House, is the national legislative body of Iran...
, told the nation’s parliament that the knighthood “has hurt the feelings of more than 1.5 billion Muslims” and that "Salman Rushdie has turned into a hated corpse which cannot be resurrected by any action. The action by the British queen in knighting Salman Rushdie, the apostate, is an unwise one. The British monarch lives under this illusion that Britain is still a 19th century superpower and that bestowing titles is something still deemed important." The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini told reporters that "Awarding a person who is one of the most hated figures in the Islamic world is a clear sign of the anti-Islamic stance of high-ranking British officials. …[It proves desecration of Islamic values in the West] is totally organised and done with the support and under the direction of those countries."
On Sunday 24 June 2007 Gholamali Haddadadel, the Iranian speaker of parliament spoke against the honour on state television. He said “The latest act of the British government was shameless and imprudent and can not be interpreted to anything but blind hostility and absolute brainlessness. The Muslims of the world will not leave this imprudent and shameless act without response.”
In an interview with Sky News Grand Ayatollah Yusef Saanei said "This act of the Queen is a very, very vast action against Islam." He said "Apart from the fact that this issue insults all the religions of the world, this will also give a pretext to the terrorists. The terrorists can use this as a pretext to do something against (Britain). ...When your Queen awards Salman Rushdie and turns him into a knight, what do you expect? This is a blasphemy. This is an insult to all the prophets of the world."
Death fatwa still in effect
After Friday prayer services on 22 June 2007 Prominent cleric HojatoleslamHojatoleslam
Hujjat al-Islam is an honorific title meaning "authority on Islam" or "proof of Islam", given to Twelver Shī‘ah clerics...
Ahmad Khatami
Ahmad Khatami
Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami is a senior Iranian Ayatollah, as well as a senior member of the Assembly of Experts. In December of 2005, Ali Khamenei appointed him as Tehran’s substitute Friday prayer leader.He was born in the town of Nīr, Northern Iran...
spoke to worshipers by broadcast on state radio from Tehran. He addressed the death sentence issued by Ayatollah
Ayatollah
Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
against Rushdie, saying "In the Islamic Iran that revolutionary fatwa of Imam [Khomeini] is still alive and cannot be changed." He went on to say that "The old and decrepit government of Great Britain should know that the era of their empire is over and today they are a valet in the service of the United States." While in 1998 the Iranian government (under British diplomatic pressure) declared it would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie," many clerics like Khatami rejected the move. Even soon after the government's disavowel , the Iranian press reported three clerics calling on their followers to kill Rushdie, stating that the fatwa was irrevocable. As late as January 2005 Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...
announced that “he still believed the British novelist was an apostate whose killing would be authorized by Islam.”
Iranian newspapers have been covering the story extensively viewing both Rushdie and the British government in a negative light. One example is a the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper which reflecting on Queen Elizabeth II said, "The question is what the old British crone sought by knighting Rushdie: to help him? Well, her act only shortens Rushdie's pathetic life."
On 25 June 2007 foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was confronted by the local media on why Iran's position against the knighthood was more moderate when compared to other Muslim nations especially that of nearby Pakistan (see below). Hosseini noted that not only had he immediately condemned the knighthood as Islamophobia, but in a seeming reversal of his nation's previous stand said "The stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to this issue has not changed from what was put forward by Imam Khomeini." In a similar statement Parliamentarian for Tehran, Mehdi Kuchakzadeh, said "Rushdie died the moment the late Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini) issued the fatwa."
Also on the 25th, Alaeddin Boroujerdi
Alaeddin Boroujerdi
Alaeddin Boroujerdi is the Chairman for the Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran.-Overview:...
, the head of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission appeared with his Norwegian counterpart (Olaf Akselsson) to respond to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
’s request for a cancellation of the death fatwa. Boroujerdi stated that the "Late Imam Khomeini's decree on Salman Rushdie is eternal and irrevocable. Honoring religious sanctities is necessary and all societies must respect this. All countries have a red line in their policies. For instance, in spite of freedom of speech a university professor and a political figure loses his job because of denying the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
in Europe, insulting Muhammad has caused the late Imam to issue the decree which is irreversible. Addressing the talks with Norway over human rights, he went on to say that reports of human rights abuses in Iran were the work of “MKO
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
terrorist groups…so such wrong information would [naturally] cause wrong judgment…[Continuing diplomatic travel between Iran and Europe] would show the realities of Iran and would correct [the] unreal attitude of the West on Iran."
On 29 June 2007 Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati
Ahmad Jannati
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati Massah is a hardline Iranian politician, fundamentalist Shi'i cleric and a founding member of Haghani school with close ties with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mesbah-Yazdi...
delivering Friday prayers over state run radio said he "hoped that the late Imam Khomeini's 1989 fatwa in sentencing the apostate writer to death will go in effect." He also spoke about the knighthood saying that "The result of such an act of Britain is its turning into [the] bete noire of the world nations. These measures are the reason the US and Britain have become the most hated states in the world's developed camp." He also called on the people of Iraq and Lebanon "to be vigilant against the arrogant powers' divisive plots."
Private bounty offered
The Organisation to Commemorate Martyrs of the Muslim World (an organization that Robert Spencer claims is "An Iranian jihadist group") offered $150,000 to anyone killing Rushdie. Their secretary general, Forouz Rajaefar, declared that "The British and the supporters of the anti-Islam Salman Rushdie could rest assured that the writer’s nightmare will not end until the moment of his death and we will bestow kisses on the hands of whomsoever is able to execute this apostate."Early protests
After the news of the knighthood was released "Hundreds of people participated in protests in IslamabadIslamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
and other cities" with some of the protestors calling on their government "to expel the British high commissioner".
Parliament's first resolution
On 18 June 2007 Pakistan's parliamentMajlis-e-Shoora
The Parliament of Pakistan, officially termed the Majlis-e-Shoora ; is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature that consists of the Senate and the National Assembly, the upper and lower houses, respectively...
passed a resolution condemning the knighthood and demanding the British revoke it. The resolution was passed unanimously.
Ijaz-ul-Haq's comments
After the resolution was passed Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-HaqMuhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq
Ch Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq is a prominent Pakistani politician and a businessman who served as a Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Minorities under the Government of Prime minister Shaukat Aziz. A former Pakistan Army officer, Haq joined the Pakistan Army in 1971, as second lieutnenat, but...
, made an address to the parliament which was carried by local television stations. Haq said that "insults to Islam were at the root of terrorism", and that "if someone committed a suicide bombing to protect the honour of the Prophet Mohammad, his act was justified." He called on all Muslim governments to break ties with Britain and warned that "This is an occasion for the [world's] 1.5 billion Muslims to look at the seriousness of this decision. If Muslims do not unite, the situation will get worse and Salman Rushdie may get a seat in the British parliament." When asked about his comments about suicide bombing later Haq stated that he "did not mean such attacks would be justified but was merely saying militants could use the knighthood as a justification." Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
condemned the minister's comments, seeing them as a call to assassinate Rushdie, she said "The minister... son of a previous military dictator (Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq) who had patronised [Islamic] extremist groups, had done a great disservice both to the image of Islam and the standing of Pakistan by calling for the murder of foreign citizens." The speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly expunged Haq's speech from the official record, citing the national interest. Abdul Rashid Ghazi
Abdul Rashid Ghazi
Abdul Rashid Ghazi was an Islamist Pakistani cleric; son of Maulana Muhammad Abdullah, and younger brother of Abdul Aziz Ghazi. He was descended from the Sadwani clan of Mazari tribe in the town of Rojhan in Rajanpur, the border district of Punjab province of Pakistan.Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed...
, who ran the hardline Red Mosque
Lal Masjid
The Lal Masjid is a mosque located in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. A religious school for women, the Jamia Hafsa madrasah, and a male madrasah, Jamia Faridia are attached to the mosque.-History:...
in Islamabad, responded to Haq's initial comments saying "Salman Rushdie deserves to be killed and anyone who has the power must kill him."
After Pakistan's legislature passed its resolution against the honour, the road outside the parliament building was soon blocked by 300 burqa
Burqa
A burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
wearing female Islamists waving flags and placards against the knighthood.
UK diplomat summoned
On 19 June 2007 the British High CommissionerHigh Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
, Robert Brinkley, was called in by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and told that “Salman Rushdie has been a controversial figure who is known less for his literary contribution and more for his offensive and insulting writing which deeply hurts the sentiments of Muslims all over the world. Conferment of a knighthood on Salman Rushdie shows an utter lack of sensitivity on the part of the British government.” They also told him that Rushdie's knighthood is a breach of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1624
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1624
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1624, adopted unanimously at the 2005 World Summit on September 14, 2005, after reaffirming resolutions on terrorism, including resolutions 1267 , 1373 , 1535 , 1540 , 1566 and 1617 , the Council called on all states to co-operate in order to strengthen...
, which calls on all member states to "enhance dialogue and broaden understanding...[to prevent] the indiscriminate targeting of religions and cultures". Responding to the summons Ambassador Brinkley said “that the honour was not meant to offend Muslims”. He also voiced Britain’s "deep concern" at the comments by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq
Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq
Ch Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq is a prominent Pakistani politician and a businessman who served as a Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Minorities under the Government of Prime minister Shaukat Aziz. A former Pakistan Army officer, Haq joined the Pakistan Army in 1971, as second lieutnenat, but...
about suicide bombers telling them that "nothing can justify suicide bomb attacks". Haq later announced that he hoped to go to Britain soon to help "clear misunderstandings". Haq then announced he will be travelling to London with a delegation to discuss ways of engaging Muslim clerics. The British Foreign Office declared that there was no official visit with Haq scheduled but "It's not a matter for us if he is making a private visit."
Later Pakistani Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam announced that her government formally asked the Organization of the Islamic Conference (a permanent delegation at the United Nations) to take a clear stance on Rushdie's knighthood. She said "We have formally approached the OIC to take a position on it," but she also noted that as there was no procedure to move the world body itself, her nation had no plans to approach the UN.
Pakistani leaders speak
On 21 June 2007, Afzal Sahi, the speaker of the PunjabPunjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
provincial assembly reflecting on the knighthood said "blasphemers should be killed, I will murder a blasphemer if he comes across me.", and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is a politician from Pakistan who was the Prime Minister of that country from June 30, 2004 until August 28 2004...
, president of Pakistan's ruling party
Pakistan Muslim League
The Pakistan Muslim League was founded in 1962, as a successor to the previously disbanded Muslim League in Pakistan. Unlike the original PML which ended in 1958 when General Ayub Khan banned all political parties, each subsequent Muslim League was in some way propped by the military dictators of...
, accused UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
of being "personally and mentally against Islam". Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the chief minister of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province, said his outrage at the knighthood was causing him to return medals won by his grandfather and other relatives when the country was under UK colonial rule back to the British High Commission. Speaking during a trip to Washington D.C. Pakistan's foreign minister, Khurshid Kasuri, said that “Britain could not have been surprised by the outrage.”
Private bounty placed on Rushdie's head
Also on the 21st, the General Secretary of the Islamabad Traders Association, Ajmal Baloch announced during a protest against the knighthood that "We will give 10 million rupees (USD 165,000) to anyone who beheads Rushdie." He also called on all Islamic countries to boycott British products.22 June protests
On 22 June 2007 thousands of Pakistanis took part in protests led by the radical MMA Parliamentary alliance at the conclusion of prayer services. Friday protestors in Islamabad numbered around 300, they chanted “Death to blasphemer Rushdie! Death to Britain!” and "Our struggle will continue until Salman Rushdie is killed!" The crowd was addressed by parliamentary opposition leader (and noted supporter of the Taliban) cleric Fazalur Rehman who told them that "Britain must withdraw the knighthood and hand Rushdie to Pakistan to be punished under Islamic laws." Muttahida Majlis-e-Ammal Fazal ur Rehman a member of the parliamentary religious alliance told the demonstrators that “'Britain has opened a new front against Muslims by awarding a criminal like Rushdie.”In Karachi over a thousand demonstrators chanted in support of Ejaz-ul-Haq’s initial comments that they held to be an endorsement of Rushdie’s assassination by suicide bombing. In the city of Multan, the British flag, and effigies of Rushdie and Queen Elizabeth II have been set aflame during protests in the country throughout the week of the news of the announcement with protestors chanting "Kill him! Kill him!" There were also mass protests in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, and Peshawar.
Parliament's second resolution
On 22 June 2007 Pakistan’s government renewed its call for the UK to withdraw the honour. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sher Afghan Niazi told the parliament "The British government has not withdrawn the title which has not only disappointed the entire Pakistani nation but has also hurt it. This august house again calls on the British government and its Prime Minister Tony Blair to immediately withdraw the title... and tender an apology to the Muslim world." Niazi’s resolution passed unanimously. Khwaja Saad Rafiq a legislator from the party of exiled former premier Nawaz SharifNawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
called for Rushdie’s execution saying "Whosoever kills him will be the hero of Muslims."
Canadian author and Muslim Irshad Manji
Irshad Manji
Irshad Manji is a Canadian author, journalist and an advocate of "reform and progressive" interpretation of Islam. Manji is director of the Moral Courage Project at the Robert F...
pointed out that Pakistan's Parliament has been silent on Islamist "assaults on fellow believers" in Iraq and Afghanistan, writing "I am offended that amid the internecine carnage, a professed atheist named Salman Rushdie tops the to-do list."
Clerics honour Bin Laden in response
In reaction to the announcement of the knighthood, the Pakistan UlemaUlema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
Council bestowed Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
with the title "Saifullah", or sword of Allah. Their chairman, Tahir Ashrafi, said "We have awarded this title in reply to Britain's decision to knight blasphemer Rushdie. If a blasphemer can be given the title 'Sir' by the West despite the fact he's hurt the feelings of Muslims, then a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British must be given the lofty title of Islam, Saifullah."
Malaysian PAS Party reaction
On Thursday, 21 June 2007 thirty members of the hard-line Islamic PASPAS (political party)
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party commonly known as PAS or Pas, is an Islamist political party in Malaysia and is currently headed by Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang...
opposition party led a protest to the British High Commission calling for the honour to be revoked. The protestors chanted "Destroy Salman Rushdie, Destroy Britain!" and "Go to hell, Britain! Go to hell, Rushdie!" The PAS' treasurer, Hatta Ramli, said making Rushdie a knight "has tainted the whole knighthood, the whole hall of fame of the British system. The British government must be responsible because it has created a sudden feeling of anger not just on Salman Rushdie but on the British government. They have to bear the consequences." After the "rare half-hour demonstration" the PAS members delivered a one-page memorandum to the British envoy written by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang. It read, "In the name of peace and mutual respect, we demand the award be withdrawn, and the British government distance itself from a provocateur like Salman Rushdie."
On 29 June 2007 following Friday prayers the Muslim fundamentalist PAS Party again lead a march of around 300 activists outside the UK and US embassies in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. They denounced both the knighthood and US policy in the Middle East. They were monitored by riot police equipped with trucks carrying water canons but the event did not descend into violence. The "Protesters spent 15 minutes outside the building, chanting slogans and waving posters that read 'Unite for Islam', 'Death penalty for Salman' and 'Salman Rushdie Get Lost From This World.'" One placard had a caricature of Rushdie with horns growing out of his head. At the 20 minute rally outside the US embassy they shouted "Down with Bush!" and "Crush America!" The PAS spokesman at the demonstration said America was "trying to dominate Muslim countries" and was interfering "all over the world."
Afghan reaction
AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
's Taliban released a statement on the Internet in response to the knighthood, saying "We hope that Muslims and Islamic societies show a strong and serious response ... and to force the British government to apologise to Muslims and retract this title." Reading a statement by the group's leadership over the phone to reporters a Taliban spokesman called Rushdie an "apostate" and said "We consider this another major affront to Islam by the infidels." The US-installed Afghan government made no comment on the award.
Kuwaiti reaction
On 27 June 2007 the National Assembly of KuwaitNational Assembly of Kuwait
The National Assembly of Kuwait, known as the Majlis Al-Umma , is the legislature of Kuwait. The current speaker of the Assembly is Jassem Al-Kharafi. The Emir unconstitutionally dissolved the National Assembly in 1986 and restored it after the Gulf War in 1992...
stated its "disappointment and discontent" on the knighthood describing the step as "hurting Muslim feelings." The Assembly's statement said that "such measures as knighting those who combat the Islamic faith and challenge its principles do not create a positive climate or contribute to the success of any dialogue between civilizations, or help to create a common ground of understanding between the West and the Islamic world. ...[Bestowing the honour was] "provocative and unbecoming conduct that is likely to worsen the fundamentalist behavior that marks several cultures." They stated that "mutual respect among religious faiths and sects" was the best way "to ensure a peaceful and safe international social climate, which is free of discrimination, tension and worries." The Kuwaiti government also summoned their British ambassador to formally protest against the award.
Egyptian reaction
On 20 June 2007 the Egyptian Parliament criticised the knighthood. Parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorur invoked the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
declaring that "To honour someone who has offended the Muslim religion is a bigger error still than the publication of caricatures attacking the Prophet Mohammed."
Azerbaijani reaction
Ilqar Ibrahimoglu the coordinator of the Centre for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience and Religion in AzerbaijanAzerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, stated that "such measures can be the cause of the strengthening aggression of the West against Islam. They provoke Muslims. Muslims should be very careful, watchful and cold-blooded." The Azerbaijani government has not issued any statements on the matter and there have been no organized protests.
Iraqi reaction
IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari
Hoshyar Zebari
Hoshyar Zebari is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq. A Kurd originally from Aqrah, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan, Zebari holds a masters degree in sociology from the University of Essex, England and studied political science in Jordan...
was in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
meeting with Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett
Margaret Beckett
Margaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...
when the news of Rushdie’s knighthood broke. Zebari said that while he “respected the right of Britain to decide who received the honour…the decision could be used to cause trouble. For my government, we share the views of many Muslims. Iraq is a Muslim country. We believe that, with all due respect to the knighthood, I think it was untimely. This is my view. I don't have any official position from my government on this issue, but I think it would be used by many quarters to exploit this issue outside this country." The Iraqi government has taken no official position on the matter and there have been no protests about it there. Speaking with Zebari, Beckett said "Obviously we are sorry if there are people who have taken very much to heart this honour, which is after all for a lifelong body of literary work." She also pointed out that Rushdie was among many Muslims who had been awarded by the British honours system – a fact that "may not be realized by many of those who have been vocal in their opposition."
Indonesian reaction
In IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh the head of the Wahid Institute (and the daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...
) condemned both the knighthood and calls for retaliation. She felt the honour was undeserved "We deeply regret and strongly criticize it because the book is not at all praiseworthy.” She said that though she “regretted Rushdie's action of selling his religion to get popularity, nobody had the right to revoke his right to exercise freedom of speech. We cannot revoke his right to express his views. Even those who do not believe in God have rights. They cannot be punished or killed or subjected to arbitrary acts. Islam does not teach violence." Moeslim Abdurrahman an Islamic scholar from the Muhammadiyah organisation, called on his nation to mediate between the UK and the Muslim world, adding "Indonesia needs to reduce (tension) and not to complicate the matter. If Indonesia also gets angry it will contribute nothing."
Indian reaction
There were protests in different parts of IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
over the knighthood, including one in Kanpur led by the AJ Fareedi Association denouncing Britain and chanting slogans against Rushdie. The Islamic Centre of India began a petition campaign with the end result to be handing over a banner to the British High Commissioner in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
covered with thousands of signatures. The centre's general secretary, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangimahli, announced in his Friday sermon that by honouring Rushdie the UK "has acted against the whole Muslim community around the world." He demanded the Indian government alert Britain of their outrage. The leaders of the Sunni Board of India also condemned the move in a Friday meeting, likewise they demanded the Indian government express their anger to the British.
The Ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
Council of India said "the decision to honor Indian-born Rushdie reflects the anti-Islamic attitude of the British government." Its spokesmen, Maulana Abul Hasan, stated "Salman Rushdie is a detested figure among Muslims. The British government has hurt Muslim feelings by honoring a person who is facing a fatwa for blasphemous writings." On Sunday 24 June 2007 the Ulema Council joined with the Islamic Center of India, and the All India Sunni Board in sending a joint statement to the British High Commission in New Delhi condemning the knighthood.
Politicians
Besides the reactions of Home Secretary John Reid and Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett (see above), other UK politicians have expressed their view on the honour.Lord Ahmed of Rotherham
Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed
Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed is a member of the House of Lords, having become the United Kingdom's first Muslim life peer in 1998. Many of his political activities relate to the Islamic community both in the UK and abroad, and he has often attracted controversy...
, a senior Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Muslim peer, appealed to ministers to put the award on hold and told them that British Muslim business owners were attempting to organise a nationwide strike over the matter. Ahmed said "I would urge and plead with all Muslims around the world to remain calm." He also stated his belief that Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
was also an insult to Christianity and had put "Her Majesty the Queen in a very difficult position". “Actually I was appalled to hear that Salman Rushdie had been given a knighthood, particularly when this man has been very divisive. This man - as you can see - not only provoked violence around the world because of his writings, but there were many people that were killed around the world and honouring the man who has blood on his hands, sort of because of what he did, honouring him I think is going a bit too far.”
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP Stewart Jackson
Stewart Jackson
Stewart James Jackson is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he is the Member of Parliament for Peterborough.-Early life:...
(the chairman of the all-party group on Pakistan) spoke against the honour, "We do not need a situation where we are gratuitously offending our allies in the fight against terror. I think the prime minister's office should think very carefully about that decision."
The head of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
Labour party leader Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
, said he sympathized with "the concerns and sensitivity in the [Muslim] community... [but there could be] no justification whatever for suggestions that as a result of this a further fatwa should be placed on the life of Mr Rushdie".
Officials at the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
denied charges that the honours vetting committees had failed to consider the wider implications knighting Rushdie. One Labour MP speaking to reporters off the record noted that a week before Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
becomes Prime Minister the award "reinforces the impression that nobody's in control. Anybody with any common sense would have blocked this."
Conservative home affairs spokesman David Davis stated "Whatever you think of the work of Salman Rushdie, freedom of speech is a fundamental freedom in this country. What is more, the sovereign's choice of who she wishes to honour will never be the subject of intimidation."
Tessa Jowell who was Culture Secretary at the time of the knighthood's announcement told reporters that "Salman Rushdie was recognised in the recent honours as one of this country's outstanding writers. In times when terrorist threats beset the way of life in this country and the way of life in this country is being attacked by terrorists, standing up for free speech and freedom of speech is ever more important."
Protests
On 22 June 2007 dozens of British Muslims (some with scarves masking their faces) gathered outside Regent's ParkRegent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
mosque denouncing Rushdie’s knighthood, “noisily renewing calls for his death”, and burning a poster of the British flag. They addressed worshippers leaving Friday services and soon had attracted a crowd of over 100 people. The demonstrators chanted "Death to Rushdie! Death to the queen!” and had signs with slogans such as "Salman Rushdie should be punished, not praised." Protest organiser Anjem Choudray (an ex-head of the British wing of the banned radical group al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun
Al-Muhajiroun is a banned Islamist organisation that was based in Britain and which has been linked to international terrorism, homophobia and anti-semitism...
and helped co-ordinate the protests over the Jyllands-Posten cartoons
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
) said "This knighthood is just another example of Tony Blair and his government's attempts to secularize Muslims and reward apostates. Rushdie is a hate figure across the Muslim world. This honour will have ramifications here and across the world. The awards pass across his (Blair's) desk and he could easily have blocked it, knowing it would offend Muslims everywhere." He pointed to the protests in Iran, Pakistan, and Malaysia as proof that the outcry was growing. Another protestor told reporters "We've come to demonstrate against the apostate Salman Rushdie. He has insulted Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Salman Rushdie is the devil. We have a responsibility - he should be punished, he should be attacked. We should not be afraid of the kuffar
Kafir
Kafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
. They say Tony Blair is going to be sent to the Middle East as a peace envoy. We hope he comes back in a box."
The director general's staff at the Mosque distanced themselves from the protestors, saying "We do not sanction this protest or the views they are expressing."
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui is an academic and political activist. He was born in Delhi, India, migrated to Pakistan in late 1947 and moved to the UK in 1964....
, leader of the Muslim Parliament
Muslim Parliament
The Muslim Parliament of Great Britain is a Muslim organization founded in 1992 in London by Dr Kalim Siddiqui, Director of the Muslim Institute, based on a proposal published in July 1990 under the title The Muslim Manifesto. The Muslim Parliament consists mainly of appointees, including women and...
, condemned the protest saying "This is unacceptable behaviour which the majority of Muslims in this country would not support. There's no denying a large section of the Muslim community feel very hurt about this issue. But having expressed your anger and frustration you've got to move forward. Unfortunately there will always be some strange lunatics, like in any community, who give others a bad name."
Fiona Mactaggart
Fiona Mactaggart
Fiona Margaret Mactaggart is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Slough since 1997.-Early life:...
the MP for Slough
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
upset some British Muslims by declaring the protest over the knighthood a "press stunt". Members of Slough's Muslim community claim she ignored them when they tried to present a petition to her at the surgery
Surgery (politics)
A political surgery or clinic is a term used to describe a series of one-to-one meetings. A Member of Parliament may have with his or her constituents, at which a constituent may raise issues of local concern...
with constituents. She claims in turn that they neither contacted her nor tried to approach her at the surgery.
The Muslim Council of Europe called for a mass demonstration outside Blackburn Town Hall on 21 July 2007.
Muslim Council
The Muslim Council of BritainMuslim Council of Britain
The Muslim Council of Britain is a self-appointed umbrella body for national, regional, local and specialist organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within British Islamic society. It was established in 1997 to help Muslims, to increase education about the...
released a statement saying they were "disturbed at the deliberate political decision to confer a knighthood to Salman Rushdie...[who] caused deep hurt to Muslims everywhere." They characterized the honour as a "deliberate provocation". They offered suggestions to mosques and Islamic groups in the UK urging their fellow Muslims to "face provocation with dignity and wisdom" when protesting the knighthood and "resist efforts by fringe elements in the community to exploit disappointment felt at the award." They wrote “We should not allow the situation to be inflamed in any way or be exploited by other unsavory groups so as to bring our community and our noble faith into disrepute.” They called for Muslims to "convey their feelings on the matter through letters to their parliamentary representatives and through local and national media...[and to take the] opportunity to correct the maligning of the character of the prophet in the book which earned its author his notoriety."
Muhammad Abdul Bari
Muhammad Abdul Bari
Muhammad Abdul Bari, MBE FRSA , is the Chairman of the East London Mosque, and was the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain from 2006 until 2010.-Life and career:...
, the Muslim Council’s secretary-general, said “Salman Rushdie earned notoriety amongst Muslims for the highly insulting and blasphemous manner in which he portrayed early Islamic figures. The granting of a knighthood to him can only do harm to the image of our country in the eyes of hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world. Many will interpret the knighthood as a final contemptuous parting gift from Tony Blair to the Muslim world.”
Scotland Yard
Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
officials said the “angry reaction to Rushdie's knighthood meant that a new threat assessment would have to be drawn up for him.” He is also likely to “be given fresh advice on the precautions he takes abroad, and the unit around him in Britain is likely to be upgraded.”
Mention by Al-Hesbah during attempted car bombings
When the events around the 2007 London car bombs2007 London car bombs
On 29 June 2007, in London, two car bombs were discovered and disabled before they could be detonated. The first device was left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket at around 01:30, and the second was in Cockspur Street, in the same area of the city....
occurred CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
on 29 June 2007 reported that a message appeared on the widely used militant Internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
Al-Hesbah
Al-Hesbah
Al-Hesbah is an Arabic message board and has been called "one of the most widely used jihadist Internet forums". On October 17, 2008, it was reported that four of Al Qaeda's five main websites were dismantled, and that Al Hesbah had become the only major Al Qaeda-linked website still in existence...
at 08:09, 28 June 17 hours before the first car bomb was discovered. It read
"In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. Is Britain Longing for al Qaeda's bombings? We, and the whole world has seen what Britain has done ... their intention to honour Salman Rushdie who insulted and slandered Islam. This 'honoring' came at a crucial time, a time when the whole nationWhile some speculated that the bombing attempts "may have been revenge for the knighthood bestowed on author Salman Rushdie...there was no hard evidence of any motive."UmmahUmmah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
is reeling from the crusaders attacks on all Muslim lands. The British capital has witnessed blessed operations that shook it to its foundations7 July 2005 London bombingsThe 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
. This was because the British had attacked the lands of Muslims and Al Qaeda is still threatening to strike against Britain to throw it out of the lands of Islam. But now, there's yet another reason for Al Qaeda to carry out such threats; the honouring of the apostate Salman Rushdie by the Crusaders ... Rushdie who insulted Islam ... and this reason has led Muslims to become even more sympathetic with the Mujahideen. The question now is: Has London longed for the bombings of Al Qaeda? We say to Britain: The Emir of al Qaeda, Sheikh Osama, has once threatened you, and he carried out his threats. Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed."
On 12 July 2007 The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
claimed "It was knighthood to writer Salman Rushdie, which has angered many radical Islamic groups, that forced alleged bomber Kafeel Ahmed
Kafeel Ahmed
Kafeel Ahmed was one of two terrorists behind the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, who later died of his injuries sustained in the attacks.-History:...
to execute the Glasgow airport attack
2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
. Investigators have stumbled upon this while gathering details about his transformation from a devout student to a radical." The report did not provide any further details or name the investigators.
Mention by Al-Qaeda
On 10 July 2007, BBC news reported that Al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
have also condemned the Rushdie honour. In a 20-minute audio recording entitled "Malicious Britain and its Indian Slaves" which was released onto a militant Islamic website, Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
condemned British involvement in Afghanistan, and Iraq and called Rushdie's knighthood "an insult to Islam". He went on to remark "I say to (Queen) Elizabeth and (former prime minister Tony) Blair that your message has reached us and we are in the process of preparing for you a precise response". Concerning the recording the British Foreign Office stated "The Government has already made clear that Rushdie’s honour was not intended as an insult to Islam or the Prophet Muhammad." Prime Minister Gordon Brown replied to the threat saying "Nothing can justify either threats to the United Kingdom or any form of terrorist activity and it must be the right of the United Kingdom to make its own decisions on all these issues."