Salman Rushdie Fatwa Reaffirmed

[truthpusher]

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/salman%20rushdie%20fatwa%20reaffirmed

SALMAN RUSHDIE FATWA REAFFIRMED

A fatwa against best-selling author SALMAN RUSHDIE has been reaffirmed by Iran's spiritual leader, 16 years after it was first declared.

Indian-born Rushdie was last night (19JAN05) denounced by AYATOLLA KHAMENEI in his message to Muslims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Khamenei called Rushdie an apostate - one who deserts or betrays his religion - and told pilgrims the killing of Rushdie would be authorised by Islam.

The fatwa was issued against 57-year-old Rushdie in 1989 by Khamenei's predecessor AYATOLLA RUDHOLLA KHOMENEI after his controversial novel THE SATANIC VERSES was published.

more:
http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/salman%20rushdie%20fatwa%20reaffirmed

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Stand and Fight]

3. Be careful of comments like that friend.

The Freeps will take them way out of context.

[NVMojo]

4. I know ...and make it their own ....

[catzies]

2. I'll bet Ashcroft wishes he had the power of fatwa.

Especially since he's leaving. He'd love to drop a couple of fatwas on his way out the door.

[anakie]

5. one more reason to invade Iran

n/t

[SKKY]

6. Have anyone read Rushdie's new book?

...It's called "Buddha, you fat faggot!" Sorry for the poor sense of humor. Reaffirms the Fatwa just in time for Salman to join U2 on tour. Is Bono in bed with the Iranians?????

[UL_Approved]

8. LOL

Seriously, though, this guy is one hell of a gadfly. He's like Bill Clinton. The RW HATES them both and both are STILL popping up in the news.

[itzamirakul]

7. Kinda scary, kinda sad...

and kinda funny. For the last decade, Mr. Rushdie has come out of protective custody or hiding or whatever and has been quite the social animal, attending all kinds of parties and art openings and concerts and he has become quite a part of the upper crust of New York. He did get married some years ago and he and his wife have been in the paper several times.

With this renewal, he will perhaps no longer have that freedom of movement.

On edit: I guess when they didn't attempt to do anything for so long a time, he probably thought they had dropped it. But I understand the a fatwa is forever.

[NVMojo]

10. do we have a fatwa on Cat Stevens now??

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

19. Cat Stevens

I was just going to ask whether or not I could continue to ignore Cat Stevens. Thanks for sorting that out. :)

[Emboldened Chimp]

9. Has anyone read the Satanic Verses?

What, exactly, is the book about and why do they want to kill him for it? I'm assuming he disparages Islam, but really, where's the sense of humor? If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?

[itzamirakul]

11. Evidently, they don't take the insult

lightly.

[NYC]

12. I read Satanic Verses.

I didn't like it, I didn't care, etc.

A friend of mine stood on line to buy a first edition. See what a fatwa will do for sales? She never read it, so I did.

Not my type of book, and I really can't see why anyone got upset about it. It's my understanding that Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued the original fatwa, had not read it himself.

I don't recommend the book. It really didn't interest me.

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. It depicts Muhammad as living in a whorehouse, for one thing...

and the whores have the (historical) names of his wives...

And it also depicts Muhammad as NOT receiving the revelation (Al Qu'ran) from Gabriel, but as putting HIS OWN thoughts into Gabriel's head that are then spoken back to him.

[Matilda]

13. Bush is now lining up Iran in his sights

and this is what they come up with?

Priorities, guys.

[daleo]

14. Some verification of this would be useful from another site or two

It seems like a stupid time for the Iranian leadership to play right into Bush's propaganda objectives, although religious fundamentalists anywhere are capable of great stupidity.

"The Iranian Government distanced itself from the fatwa in 1998, after an agreement with Britain - where Rushdie has lived under police protection since 1989 - but a $2.8 million bounty place on Rushdie's life by an Iranian foundation, is thought to remain."

[gottaB]

16. a few from google news

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1448279,00.html

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=602629

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=102277&Sn=WORL&IssueID=27306

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=28917&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs

[daleo]

18. Thanks, I trust the Independent for sure.

"Yesterday, British officials played down the latest fatwa, which was reported by the Iranian media. A Foreign Office spokesman told The Times: "The key thing from our point of view is that the Iranian government formally withdrew their support for the fatwa on Salman Rushdie in 1998 which is when Britain and Iran formally upgraded their relationship to the level of ambassador.""

It sounds like this fatwa doesn't have the force of the state behind it - just one cleric's opinion. But I don't know how that translates in theological or practical terms.

[gottaB]

21. in practical terms, it means intimidation and murder

When an apostate author is killed, it's usually extrajudicial. Official fatwas against works of literature tend not to be lethal. There are of course exceptions. I beleive apostates may be executed in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

On the issue of thwarting Bush's propaganda objectives, I wouldn't put too much faith in the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Seyyid Ali Khamenei. Naturally there are pragmatic thinkers in the Islamic Republic of Iran. He is not one of them.

You wage peace with the humanity you have, not the humanity you may have wished you had.... Ha ha. But it's not entirely a joke, you know, given that wars of choice are quite unlike peace in terms of justice and moral imperatives.

[gottaB]

15. Anybody know the current death toll on the Rushdie fatwa?

Not all the murdered apostates, just those murdered in accordance with the Rushdie fatwa?

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[catgirl]

22. It's all propoganda....and timing

Yup. It's time to remind americans how crazy
Iranians are and they must be stopped blah blah blah.
Have you heard Bush flip flopping about invading
Iran? No we're not going to do it. Well, we probably
won't do it.

I thought our troops were spread thin. Why do they
have to distract us right now. What are they planning?

[geek tragedy]

23. The ayatollah: still an ass-a-hollah

God speed to those Iranians who would depose this barbaric regime, without interference from the US.

[DoNotRefill]

24. Well, at least Cat Stevens...

has so far kept his mouth shut about this...

[saltpoint]

25. More fundamentalism, more hate.

You aren't a leader if you inspire your followers to hate and violence.