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Salman Rushdie sentenced to death 17 years ago

by EllenS

On this day, in 1989, the Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini called on Muslims to execute Salman Rushdie for his book "The Satanic Verses". The book was banned by many countries at its release because its contents were seen as “blasphemous against Islam”. Upon the issuance of the ‘fatwa’ (an Islamic religious law, in this case calling for the execution of Rushdie), Rushdie went into hiding where he remained until the death sentence was rescinded in 1998 by the Iranian government.

Resulting from this controversy, many writers and others protested against the violation of the freedom of speech. The library owns some publications that contain essays and letters by those who were against censoring Rushdie’s works. For Rushdie: essays – a collection of essays written by Arab and Muslim writers in defense of free speech. The Rushdie Letters: freedom to speak, freedom to write – a collection of letters by 26 writers in support of Rushdie.

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