"Pakistan's religious affairs minister suggested that the knighthood was so grave an offence that any Muslim anywhere in the world would be justified in taking violent action.I have only read Midnight's Children, which I enjoyed, and thus I am not able to judge the worthiness or otherwise of Sir Salman's cannon. However people who know more about these things than I do rate him highly.
"If somebody has to attack by strapping bombs to his body to protect the honour of the Prophet then it is justified," Mr ul-Haq told the National Assembly". .. Mohammad Ali Hosseini , an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that Rushdie was "one of the most hated figures" in the Islamic world.
"Honouring and commending an apostate and hated figure will definitely put the British officials (in a position) of confrontation with Islamic societies," Hosseini said.
"This act shows that insulting Islamic sacred (values) is not accidental. It is planned, organised, guided and supported by some Western countries."
The fact that a bunch of jumped up paranoids think that he should be slaughtered and Britain should be chastised for granting him an honour is ridiculous. It Is None Of Their Business. The fact that it is Ministers in these countries that are making these demands should give pause for thought to those who still persist on thinking that Islam is just a religion like any other. Frankly many Christians were mightily pissed of with the Life of Brian, but I do not recall any Government Minsters in Christian country calling for John Cleese or Graham Chapman to be blown into a thousand pieces by a young man wrapped in semtex and a beatific smile.
Trawling my addled memory banks the last time somethng like this happened was when Phillip II demanded that a previous Elizabeth do something similar to Sir Francis Drake. She refused, indeed promoted him. He too was bearded, and he had actually done something tangible to upset the Spaniards.
Update
The Daily Mail of all journals should be able to get the honours system right, but no, under a photo of Sir Salman, we have this comment,
"Salman Rushdie with his wife Padma. Rushdie was awarded an OBE this weekend, but Pakistan has demanded it be withdrawn"
2 comments:
Whilst I have no particular interest in Sir Salman’s novels I am pleased to see him honoured as his knighthood demonstrates that whilst honouring our own we will not be intimidated or influenced by outside political pressures.
It is of course ludicrous to claim that this honour is “an obvious example of fighting against Islam by high-ranking British officials.” Were this true we would not have seen a 2005 knighthood bestowed by The Queen upon Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, described by The Guardian as the “Most Influential Muslim in the UK”.
Rather than criticise the British government, Iran should congratulate Britain for having recently raised a number of British Muslims to the highest ranks of British Society as members of the House of Lords. These include Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, the first Muslim peer; Lord Patel of Blackburn, leader of the British Hajj Delegation; Baroness Falkner of Margravine; and Baroness Uddin of Bethnal Green.
Quite, what we have is a cultural cringe, a bending over backwards to prove our inclusivity. Meanwhile, those we are trying to impress treat our attempts with contempt.
Inches and miles come to mind
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