The move was part of a historic agreement with the United Kingdom. Iran issued a public guarantee not to press for Rushdie’s assassination in exchange for improving diplomatic relations between London and Tehran.
But there was a catch. The 1989 assassination decree on Rushdie’s satirical novel The Satanic Verses could not be officially revoked because the source of the fatwa – Iran’s first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini – was dead. At least that’s what Rushdie was told according to his memoir.
It was a cleverly crafted ambiguity that has defined Iran’s policy on this issue – and on many other issues – in the intervening years. In 2006, Hassan Nasrallah, the general secretary of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, publicly regretted that a fatwa had not been issued against the author, claiming that it encouraged others to “insult” the prophet Mohammed. In 2019, Iran’s current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reminded his followers that the regime against Rushdie was “concrete and irreversible”, in a tweet that led to the closure of his account. Khamenei still tweets from other accounts.
Throughout all this, Iran appeared to insist on continuing to hang the executioner’s sword in front of Rushdie.
Regardless of their intent, it is clear to see Iran’s cynical exploitation of some Muslim sensibilities. The Satanic Verses is based on a deeply controversial story in early Islamic tradition that claims that Satan had momentarily infiltrated the prophet Muhammad’s divine revelation. Iran did not directly ban the book; The country’s rulers took action only months later, when the book inspired protests in Pakistan.
The ensuing fatwa proved to be politically useful. This elevated Khomeini in the eyes of Islamic fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including Sunnis. Yet, as now, it had prominent Muslim and regional opponents.
In the letter, signed by five prominent intellectuals, including the late Indian-origin poet Agha Shahid Ali and the late Palestinian-American scholar Edward Sayeed, “the campaign is carried out in the name of Islam, although no one attributes it to Islam.”
“Certainly Muslims and others are entitled to protest against The Satanic Verses if they feel the novel offends their religious and cultural sensibilities,” the letter’s authors said. “But taking protests and debates into fanatical violence is actually contrary to Islamic traditions of learning and tolerance.”
In Rushdie’s memoir Joseph Anton, the Mumbai-born author is shown openly questioning whether he was being “sold” by the London-Tehran 1998 agreement, when he declared the threats to his life “over”. Had done it. Joseph Anton was his pseudonym during his underground time and he refers to himself in the book in the third person.
Despite accepting that a death warrant would hang over his head, he chose to hide from his life and settle in New York, where, decades later, he would be brutally attacked in front of a horrified audience.
Matar pleaded not guilty on Saturday to attempted murder in the second degree and other charges.
True to the formation, Iran denied involvement in the attack, saying that Rushdie and his “supporters” were only themselves to blame. Hezbollah also said in comments to CNN that it had no knowledge of the attacker and the plot.
“Nothing was ever perfect, but there was a level of imperfection that was hard to take,” Rushdie wrote in his memoir of the 1998 verdict. “Still, he was settled,” Rushdie said, referring to himself. “He had to take his life back into his own hands. He couldn’t wait for the ‘imperfection factor’ to drop to a more acceptable level.”
digestion
Iran to give final response to EU nuclear deal proposal by midnight in Tehran – FM
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian said Iran would give its final response to the EU’s proposal to revive the nuclear deal by midnight on Monday, according to state media.
- background: Iran is exchanging messages with the United States through mediation on the remaining three issues, one of which is “guaranteed”, Amir-Abdullahian said. “The US side has shown flexibility on two issues that have been taken into account, and now need to show flexibility with respect to guarantees,” he said. The US State Department did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment. During the briefing, Amir-Abdullahian made no mention of Iran’s previous demand that the IAEA investigation into traces of uranium at three undeclared sites be dropped.
- why it mattersThe revival of the nuclear deal, which the US withdrew in 2018, was due to be completed earlier this year. Yet talks stalled in March on several issues. They resumed in Vienna earlier this month after the European Union offered a new offer. With an increasingly tight oil market following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a revived nuclear deal would help ease energy prices after Iran lifts sanctions on the oil market and pours more barrels into Europe.
At least 18 children die in Egyptian church fire
A spokesman for Egypt’s Coptic Church said in a statement quoting health officials that at least 41 people, including 18 children, were killed when a fire broke out at the Abu Cefeen Church in Giza’s densely populated Imbaba on Sunday.
- background: 14 people were killed in a fire at a small Coptic church in Giza, Greater Cairo on Sunday. At least 18 children died, according to hospital documents seen by CNN. The children’s ages ranged from 3 to 16 years. The fire was caused by a power failure in an air conditioning unit, the interior ministry said.
- why it mattersThe incident highlights the dangers posed by parts of Egypt’s underdeveloped infrastructure, especially in the country’s poor and crowded areas. In 2020, at least seven people died in an electrical fire at a hospital treating Covid-19 patients.
Five Americans among those injured in shooting in Jerusalem
- background: According to hospitals, two Americans are being treated at Hadassah Medical Center and three at Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Hospitals said at least two American tourists were among the injured. The shooter fled the scene while pursuing members of the security forces, the Shin Bet and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Police said a helicopter from the air unit of the Israel Police assisted in the search. Later the accused handed himself over to the police. According to a police spokesperson, the weapon in his possession has been confiscated. Israeli media said the suspect is a Palestinian who has Israeli citizenship. A security source confirmed to CNN that the suspect has Israeli citizenship and is from East Jerusalem.
- why it matters: Sunday’s shooting follows last weekend’s hostilities in Gaza that killed dozens of Palestinians. Last Sunday, a ceasefire was announced in Gaza between Israel and the Islamic Jihad terrorist group. Although terrorist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza praised the attack, the suspect has no links to terrorist groups.
around the area
The woman filed a civil suit, and the Abu Dhabi family court ruled in her favor, while the man was fined for material and mental damage, Emrat Aloum reported, due to disagreements or details of both sides. without providing further details. ‘ Relationship.
The news comes amid a rise in gender-based violence in the Middle East and a growing call by activists to strengthen legal protections for women in the region.
In the Middle East, at least 37% of Arab women have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime, according to the same United Nations research.
by Nadine Ibrahim
photo of the Day
