Iran condemns British title for author Rushdie
"TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran accused Britain on Sunday of insulting Islam by awarding a knighthood to Salman Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses prompted the late Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa death warrant for him.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Rushdie, awarded for services to literature in Queen Elizabeth's birthday honors list published on Saturday, was 'one of the most hated figures' in the Islamic world.
Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini portrayed the decision as an act directed against Islam by Britain, which is among world powers involved in an escalating standoff with Iran over Tehran's disputed nuclear ambitions.
'Honoring 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, organized, guided and supported by some Western countries,' he told a regular briefing."
Read it all at Iran Focus.
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie
I see the Islamic hierarchy is using this as an opportunity to inflame the masses. I guess they hope to intimidate Europe again. Somehow, I don't think it's going to work this time.
ReplyDelete