The Rushdie Affair
Subtitle: the Novel, the Ayatollah and the West
Edition: 2nd ed.
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2017
Place of publication: Milton
Language: eng
Number of pages: 210
ISBN-13: 9781351474788
Subjects: Islam and literature; History; Freedom of the press; Censorship; Islam et littérature; Histoire; Liberté de la presse; Satanic verses (Rushdie, Salman)
Description: "The publication in 1988 of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses triggered a furor that pitted much of the Islamic world against the West over issues of blasphemy and freedom of expression. The controversy soon took on the aspect of a confrontation of civilizations, provoking powerful emotions on a global level. It involved censorship, protests, riots, a break in diplomatic relations, culminating in the notorious Iranian edict calling for the death of the novelist. In The Rushdie Affair, Daniel Pipes explains why the publication of The Satanic Verses became a cataclysmic event with far-reaching political and social consequences. Pipes looks at the Rushdie affair in both its political and cultural aspects and shows in considerable detail what the fundamentalists perceived as so offensive in The Satanic Verses as against what Rushdie's novel actually said. Pipes explains how the book created a new crisis between Iran and the West at the time--disrupting international diplomacy, billions of dollars in trade, and prospects for the release of Western hostages in Lebanon. Pipes maps out the long-term implications of the crisis. If the Ayatollah so easily intimidated the West, can others do the same? Can millions of fundamentalist Muslims now living in the United States and Europe possibly be assimilated into a culture so alien to them? Insightful and brilliantly written, this volume provides a full understanding of one of the most significant events in recent years. Koenraad Elst's postscript reviews the enduring impact of the Rushdie affair."--Provided by publisher
Table of contents: title: Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Epigraph; Table of Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1. Half a Year of Upheaval; Protests and Riots; Khomeini Steps In; Diplomatic Crisis; Part 1. The Author, the Novel, and the Edict; Chapter 2. Rushdie: A Man of the Left; Great Britain and the United States; The One Country Rushdie Likes; Chapter 3. How is the Book Blasphemous?; The Satanic Verses Incident; The Historical Record; Rushdie's Treatment; The Muslim Reaction; More on the Qur'An and Muhammad; Other Affronts; Chapter 4. Blame Rushdie for the Furor?; title: The Case Against RushdieThe Case for Rushdie; Chapter 5. Khomeini'S Edict; Was the Edict Legal?; Criticism of Khomeini; Why Khomeini Took This Step; Critics vs. Supporters; Religious Motives; Many Precedents; Chapter 6. Why Fundamentalist Muslims Picked on Rushdie; Fundamentalist Sensitivities; Taboo; The Nature of Fiction; The Title; Part 2. Protests and Repercussions; Chapter 7. A Great Conspiracy Against Islam; Defending Islam; The United States and Israel; The Struggle With Saudi Arabia; Chapter 8. Muslim Responses to Khomeini; Support; Hedging; Opposition.; title: Chapter 9. Western Responses to KhomeiniGovernments; Intellectuals and Journalists; Religious Leaders; Publishers, Bookstores and Libraries; The Soviet Bloc and Third World; Chapter 10. Iran'S Shadow in the West; Local Muslim Pressure; State-Sponsored Terrorism; Hostages; Commercial Interests; Revolutionary Ideology; Chapter 11. Censorship and Its Costs; A Chilling Effect; The Impact on Rushdie and His Book; Censorship Spawns Ignorance; Did Censorship Save Lives?; Chapter 12. Muslims Living in the West; EUro-Islam on the March; Will Muslims Integrate?; Western Disquiet.; title: Chapter 13. Concluding ThoughtsCaprice And Irony; Repercussions; Images of the Other; Freedom of Speech; Appendix; Glossary; Postscript; Index.