The publication of the novel ‘The Satanic Verses’ in 1988 it ignited a trail of Muslim demonstrations, a fatwa by Ayatollah Khomeini, a millionaire bounty on the head of its author, the Indo-British writer Salman Rushdie, and various attacks and assassinations directed against publishers and translators and defenders of the book. After the attack suffered this Friday in the United States, we recovered the chronology of a religious persecution:
1988
-September 26, 1988: Rushdie publishes his fourth novel, ‘The Satanic Verses’, in the UK, unleashing Muslim protests in several countries and its ban in India, his native country.
-November 8th: the book wins the Whitbread Prize.
-November 22th: Sheikh Gad el-Haq Ali Gad el-Haq makes a statement against “the blasphemous book” at al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, and urges British Muslims to take legal action against Rushdie.
-December: the novel is banned in South Africa and posters appear against it in Muslim neighborhoods in England. On the 28th, the headquarters of Viking, his publishing house, suffered a bomb threat.
1989
-January 1989: on the 14th there are demonstrations in Brandford and a public burning of the novel. The next day, the WH Smith bookstore chain removes it from its stores. On the 27th, demonstrations continue in London calling for the removal of the Penguin publishing group
-February 14th: After the protests spread in Pakistan (five dead and 60 wounded) and in India (one dead and one hundred wounded), the Ayatollah Khomeini issues fatwa against the book In the following days, the EEC withdraws its ambassadors from Iran and Iran withdraws its ambassadors from Europe, Canada prohibits importing the novel and the US withdraws it from its bookstores.
-18th of February: Italy is the first non-English speaking country to publish the novel. Rushdie apologizes to Muslims and on the 22nd it is published in the United States. Two days later, the demonstrations in Bombay cause ten deaths and 1,600 injuries. Khomeini offers a reward of nearly three million dollars for killing Rushdie.
-February 28th: after Muslim protests in New York, there are two explosions in book stores in Berkeley (California).
-March 2: a manifesto of support for the writer signed by a thousand intellectuals from all over the world is disseminated.
-7 of March: the Vatican condemns the novel and describes it as “irreverent and blasphemous & rdquor ;, although it also criticizes Khomeini. Two days later, Iran and England break diplomatic relations.
-March 29: are assassinated in Brussels two religious leaders Muslims after opposing the censorship of the book.
-may 19: 18 publishers assume the joint publication of the book, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture.
-may 27th: Demonstration against 50,000 Muslims in London.
-3 of June: Ayatollah Khomeini dies but the fatwa stands.
-3 August: explodes a bomb in london as a protest.
1990
–1990: To calm things down, Rushdie publishes the essay ‘In good faith’, expressing his respect for Islam and ensuring that his book is not an insult to the Muslim faith.
1991
-July 3, 1991: the Italian translator of ‘Los versos satanicos’ suffers a knife attack.
-12th of July: the Japanese translator of the novel, Hitoshi Igarashi is assassinated.
1993
-July 3, 1993: attack in Sivas against the Turkish translator, Azia Nesin, which left 37 dead.
-July 11: they attempt to assassinate the novel’s publisher in Norway, William Nygaard.
1997 to 2012
–1997: increase the reward by Rushdie, which today would be around 4 million dollars.
–1998: The Iranian Government undertakes not to urge his execution within an agreement with the United Kingdom to normalize relations between the two countries. Rusdhie will leave the underground life.
-June 17, 2010: Kurdish translator accused of blasphemy from the novel, Barmak Behdad.
Related news
-January 2012: the writer cancels his attendance at the Jaipur Literature Festival (India) after information from intelligence sources that two assassins were going to assassinate him.