Rushdie’s Satanic Verses Had Few Takers, Khomeini’s Fatwa Gave It Sudden Rise
By
Nur Ul Islam Sadequey, New Age Islam
29 August
2022
The
Novel Also Gave Muslims Chance to Clear Ambiguity around Contested Traditions
but the Fatwa Made Debate on Religion A Taboo And Rushdie Emerged Victorious
Main
Points:
1. Notably, the
title ‘Satanic Verses’ implies not only that Quran is not a divine revelation
but its devil’s work.
2. The bogey of
infamous fatwa has haunted Muslims more than Rushdie for decades.
3. For many
Muslims, Iranian motive behind the fatwa was dubious.
4. The fatwa
which had unforeseen repercussions far and wide for decades, pitted western
values against Islamic values and made debate on religion a taboo.
-----
Although
Iran has ‘categorically’ denied any link with attacker but as the stabbing of
the controversial author Salman Rushdie onstage at a literary event in New York
on August 12, 2022 was hailed by the supporters of Iranian government on social
media, it shows that the attack was result of a lingering bitterness among some
Muslims over Rushdie’s controversial novel ‘The Satanic Verses’ which led the
Iranian leadership issue a fatwa in 1989 calling for his death.
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Also
Read: Salman Rushdie's Indian Mullah Critics, Listen To the
Message of Satanic Verses
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The bogey
of infamous fatwa has haunted Muslims more than Rushdie for decades. Had there
been no fatwa the novel would have been lost in oblivion at the very outset.
For many
Muslims, Iranian motive behind the fatwa was dubious. Iran, then reeling under
privation and capitulation to a truce with Iraq to end the longstanding war,
saw the novel a ‘godsend gift’ to distract its people. Fearing that Saudis
might steal the show, and vying for leadership of the Muslim world, and to
garner support of Sunnis for the Islamic Revolution, Iran took no time in
pulling the rug from under the feet of Saudis and took lead of the protest when
its First Supreme Leader late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued fatwa (religious
edict) in February 1989 asking Muslims to kill Rushdie wherever they find him.
Although
the novel was proscribed before fatwa in a number of countries but fatwa gave
it more notoriety, many died in protest against its publication in Mumbai and
Islamabad. Rushdie emerged victorious as the next few years belonged to Satanic
Verses, people discussed need to defend free speech and critics found Islam
impediment in this struggle.
Many
Muslims found it offensive that in the garb of freedom of expression Rushdie’s
Satanic Verses distorted historical facts and fictionalized parts of Prophet
Mohammed’s life and his wives’, whom Muslims revere most, in a condescending
manner. However, the novel also gave Muslims chance to clear ambiguity around
certain contested traditions misrepresented by the author.
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Also
Read: The Attack on Salman Rushdie Is Symptomatic Of the
Malady of Intolerance Islam Suffers From
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But the
fatwa which had unforeseen repercussions far and wide for decades, pitted
western values against Islamic values and made debate on religion a taboo.
The
narrative that Islam promotes child marriage, enslaving women, killing
non-Muslims and perpetrators of blasphemy and apostasy, could have been debated
without regressing to false apologetics as plenty of authentic traditions are there
to counter such narrative. But the fatwa closed this door.
The novel
was execrated by Muslims in East and West. The resentment was so high that
progressive Islamic writers avoided the subject for fear of reprisal from
millions of zealots in Iran, India, Pakistan and elsewhere. Even many western
liberals expressed contempt for Rushdie.
Ironically,
Rushdie’s Satanic Verses demands reader to have good understanding of Islamic
sciences. Knowledge of early history of Islam, Prophet’s biography, Quran exegesis,
hadith literature and Islamic jurisprudences is required to fully understand
the novel.
Many
controversial references have been made in the novel that might offend a Muslim
reader aware of Islamic traditions. Notably, the title ‘Satanic Verses’ implies
not only that Quran is not a divine revelation but its devil’s work.
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Also
Read: Revisiting Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses
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During a
BBC interview Rushdie said that he fictionalised a quasi-historical incident
found in some traditions wherein Mohammed was offered a deal in return for
recognizing three pagan goddesses as having some kind of status not equal with
Allah but perhaps at the level of archangels then the faithful will not be
persecuted.
He was
referring to an incident known in Islamic tradition as ‘Gharaaneeq
verses’ wherein Prophet supposedly spoke two verses in surah An-Najm (after
verse 20) as part of Quran but withdrew later for the reason that devil
deceived him into thinking that verses are from God.
Although
both Sunni and Shia schools of thoughts consider Gharaaneeq verses story
fabrication as it is not found in authentic early Islamic literature and
neither in the books of hadiths of the Sunni or the Shiite sources.
Iranian
scholar Tabari (died 923 CE) describes the incident in detail which suggest Prophet
recited surah An-Najm of Qur'an in the mosque and as usual went into Sajda (prostration),
but this time all his opponent idolaters present there also kneeled and did Sajda
along with Muslims. It is said that idolaters heard Mohammed read verses in praise
of their goddesses saying ‘Laat, Uzza and the other third one Manaat
are noble Gharaaneeq (birds) and their intercession is accepted by God’.
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Also
Read: Afterthoughts On Salman Rushdie Episode
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But
surprisingly, the surah actually negates this notion in rather categorical
terms which suggest these idols are fabricated gods created by the idolaters
and their forefathers, out of desire and imagination.
It is
evident from last week’s attack on Rushdie that he will remain a damned figure
in Islamic world no matter how hard he repents as for the common psyche he has
committed profanity of highest degree against Islam, the Prophet and Quran. And
threat to his life will remain there from misguided elements like Hadi Matar no
matter how progressive and accommodative we become.
However, a
common Muslim should emulate Prophet for being merciful, forgiving and
beneficial to the society. Any resentment should be expressed through peaceful
means. Violence does only disservice to the community. Rushdie’s Satanic Verses will remain in
people’s imagination with or without him. Muslims need to adapt to this.
---
Nur Ul
Islam Sadequey is an Arabic scholar based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/rushdie-satanic-verses-khomeini-s-fatwa-/d/127826
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