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Salman Rushdie - Page 3

JB:

Let's keep in mind that Rushdie was raised a Muslim and I think is the number one reason the Muslim world is so upset at him, nevertheless there were people involved in the publication of this book that have been murdered because of it, this is just terrible. For me, whether Rushdie was raised a Muslim or wasn't does not justify to kill him over a book. If Muslims are "thirsty" for his blood...then they must accept that Islam cannot be called the Religion of peace, I do not see anything peaceful about this as well as other manifestations of violence that they have demonstrated when someone portrait their religion views in a negative or controversial light.

That's why I think a lot of Muslims are not open minded neither tolerant of other's people views. Have you all heard the phrase "Your actions speak so loud that I can't hear what you are saying?".

Rushdie Salman

Excommunication hasn't solved anything. We see more and more insulting depictions of the Holy Messiah and his Holy Mother. There is no respect any more for religion at least in the West where blasphemy, apostacy etc etc are OK in the spirit of liberalism.

Herein lies a deep difference between Christianity and Islam. The philosophical outlook of most muslims is entirely truth oriented. God and Mohammad are paramount. Society is completely geared towards God. Anything which opposes God in such a flagrant manner can never be tolerated by muslims. Political decisions are made dependant on religion, worldy consequences are of no value.

Christians as I have observed are increasingly yielding towards liberalism. Secularism has overtaken the commandments of the Bible. Christian society is now benefit oriented where political decisions are based on wordly and immediate consequences.

I'm not aware of anyone being killed over this award. If you are referring to the killings over the act of apostacy and blasphemy by Mr. Rushdie then that is a different matter. In fact the Koran does not mention th punishment of apostacy. This ruling comes from extra Koranic legal sources ie the sayings of the Prophet. Nevertheless it is an islamic ruling which can be traced back to the bible. For the Bible itself endorses the death penalty for apostacy.

I interpreted Ahmadinejads statements to be non-violent based on his own statements. Rather may I ask you why are you so adamant on interpreting everyones statements as violent? Yes there are violent muslims in the world. But I wouldnt include Ahmadinejad or Mr. Ijaz Ul-Haq.

Problem is Salman Rushdie was actually a muslim and the punishment was that of apostacy. People are free to criticise Islam respectfully within the bounds of academic decency. The civilised way of criticising religion is to debate its principles through logical manner. Satanic Verses or the Danish Cartoons were definitely not civilised. Infact they were a deliberate attempt to mock, insult, blasphemise the religion of Islam and this cannot be tolerated by muslims.

Salman Rushdie Islam Studies

JB:

Let's keep in mind that Rushdie was raised a Muslim and I think is the number one reason the Muslim world is so upset at him, nevertheless there were people involved in the publication of this book that have been murdered because of it, this is just terrible. For me, whether Rushdie was raised a Muslim or wasn't does not justify to kill him over a book. If Muslims are "thirsty" for his blood...then they must accept that Islam cannot be called the Religion of peace, I do not see anything peaceful about this as well as other manifestations of violence that they have demonstrated when someone portrait their religion views in a negative or controversial light.

That's why I think a lot of Muslims are not open minded neither tolerant of other's people views. Have you all heard the phrase "Your actions speak so loud that I can't hear what you are saying?".

Page 3 Rushdie Salman

I can't see any reason why Tony Blair or the Government would Knight Salman Rushdie for his work other than to upset Muslims. His work is so controversial, that it couldn't warrant a knighthood, in my opinion.
I remember when Salman Rushdie went in hiding, and the whole of Britain was divided on who was right and who was wrong.
As Vincenzo pointed out, it does seem to fit in timely with Tony Blair's leaving, and it just seems that he is intent on stirring up a 'hornets nest' prior to his departure.
Regarding whether Muslim's are taking things to the extreme or not, I personally think that Tony Blair is doing Salman Rushdie no favor whatsoever, as Salman Rushdie having been raised as a Muslim knew what the punishment would be for insulting Islam over his writings, but still chose to take that course of action anyway.
At least had Tony Blair not raised this issue to this level, Salman Rushdie might have still been able to walk the streets. I fear that Tony Blair has only made matters worse for him by making him a 'sitting target'.
At the end of the day, in Islamic countries where you are not allowed to drink or buy alcohol, as this is against Islamic law in some countries, nobody does, as they know the penalty they will pay, should they break these rules. In my opinion, Salman Rushdie has given little thought to the consequences of his actions and words against a religion that he himself was raised as part of. I can never condone killings, but I do feel that this book of his should never have been written in the first place.
What is worse in this case, by Tony Blair and the government endorsing the Knighthood, it looks like the whole of Britain is in support of this, whereas, the truth is, I suspect that very few people would be in support of a knighthood if given the choice as an option.

Rushdie Salman

Karbala:

As a Christian, I do not agree with this at all. Apostasy is not OK at all and every religion deals with it. In my Church is Excommunication as well as other Churches. You need to keep in mind that as Christian we believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ who believed in forgiveness and giving people second, third chances or more IF they truly repent. His teachings outlaws the ones of the Mosaic Law. So it is not that it is "Ok" but we just deal with it differently.

Interesting.

I do not interpret, I read from their own words. Remember you are the one "interpreting" Ahmadinejad's words as well as "interpreting" the intentions of the Pakistani leader.

Why can't they? Catholics do, Mormons do even Jehovah Witnesses do. I am NOT saying they should not be offended, of course Muslims have every right to feel bad about those things but DEATH because of a book? I am absolutely against it.

I do not understand though how the Queen gave such a high award to this guy. His work is not "good" or well received to receive such honor.

Salman Rushdie

Sami ul Haq, leader of the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam said in a statement

Yes, he is trying to draw an idiotic comparison between a terrorist who have been PROVEN enjoys the killing of innocent people and plans these attacks with someone who wrote a distasteful book about Islam.

https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285053,00.html

Salman Rushdie - Page 3

Maybe a silly question, but having not actually read the book can anyone who has read it in the whole and not merely parts state what is so bad to warrant death?

Salman Rushdie Studies Islam - Page 3

I actually found the book to be quite tiring to read. The way a plane blows up and a couple of people floated back to the ground was a bit hard to swallow. I am more of a Historical reader. I do not enjoy a lot of symbolism. However, wikipedia to the rescue!

So basically, he says the Qur'an is wrong. This has been done many times with the Bible. Now this part is what I remember as to why the Ayatollah was so upset...it was pretty subtle (like a boulder hitting your head to get your attention):

So, it looked like the Ayatollah didn't appreciate the comparison and called for a fatwah.

Oh and there have been several near deaths and one confirmed from the mear publication or translation of the book. A Japanese translator died from a assassination. A Italian and Norweign translator or publisher also had assassination attempts on their life from dealings with the books. Remember, the Ayatollah didn't just condemn Rushdie. He condemned anyone that published the books as well with knowledge of the contents.

Edited: Vincenzo on 21st Jun, 2007 - 1:57am