Salman Rushdie Pulls Out Of Jaipur Literature Festival
Saturday, January 21, 2012 at 2:23 am
Salman Rushdie Pulls Out Of Jaipur Literature Festival
Author Salman Rushdie has withdrawn from India’s biggest literary festival, saying that he feared assassination after influential Muslim clerics protested against his participation. The novel provoked anger throughout the Muslim world when it was published in 1988 and was also banned in India where the secular government feared it would cause communal tensions.
The festival’s co-director, William Dalrymple, confirmed that Friday’s scheduled event would not take place, but did not say whether Rushdie would appear at another festival event. He lived in hiding for many years after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his execution.
Muslim clerics had warned of protests against Mr Rushdie; they say his book, The Satanic Verses, is blasphemous. As organizers read out his statement in Jaipur on Friday, Mr Rushdie tweeted, “Very sad not to be at jaipur. I was told Bombay mafia don issued weapons to 2 hitmen to ‘eliminate’ me. Will do video link instead. Damn.”
The Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini called for Rushdie’s execution in 1989, setting off a wave of protests around the world with his claim that the novel’s portrayal of the prophet Muhammad insulted Islam, and forcing the author into hiding.
A bounty was offered for Rushdie’s death, and he was thus forced to live under police protection for several years. On 7 March 1989, the United Kingdom and Iran broke diplomatic relations over the Rushdie controversy. Author William Dalrymple, who is also a festival organiser, said Salman Rushdie’s decision to stay away was a “great tragedy”.
Security for the popular festival, which attracts thousands of visitors, had already been escalated following the threat of protests. Critics have accused the government of capitulating to hardliners by failing to publicly reassure Mr Rushdie that he would be protected in India.
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