Salman Rushdie as an author wrote more than a dozen of book. His second novel, Midnight’s Children won Pulitzer prize. Rushdie’s fourth novel, Satanic Verses brought him death threat. There are scores of books and other works critical of Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Atheists etc. Yet those authors still alive and healthy. There’s only one “religion” that guarantees violence at some point if a certain book or painting is deemed blasphemous to its beliefs.
In fact, the Iran’s Khomeini declared a Fatwa and the country put a bounty of $3 million on his head. Iran, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh banned the book immediately after it was published in 1988.
Awkwardly some Muslims are celebrating the stabbing attack on author Salman Rushdie. Since the 80s, many Muslims have called for and tried to kill the author and those connected to him for offending their religion. A Japanese translator was murdered in connection with salmon.
A poem cannot stop a bullet. A novel can’t defuse a bomb. But we are not helpless. We can sing the truth and name the liars.
It doesn’t matter whether you hate Salman Rushdie ideas or not. It does not matter whether you have read Satanic Verses as a Muslim. If you don’t condemn this today, being stabbed in the neck and beheaded for offending the fragile feelings of the Muslim community will become normalized.
One must look at all this as a whole. This type of thing is happening everyday and more often or maybe just due to media posts. The little people have nobody protecting them as the country is angry and lashing out on each other. I am principal victim of these societal bigotry and tug of war’s.
But I feel we have these rabbit holes measured now. Besides, was inspired when Salman Rushdie spoke at the PEN World Voices Festival. He said: “A poem cannot stop a bullet. A novel can’t defuse a bomb … But we are not helpless … We can sing the truth and name the liars.” We must tell better stories than the tyrants.
YES ! You can kill us but you cannot kill the idea of writing and fighting for our dignity. I summons the barbaric terrorists to his own Ghost Head. Fuck you and anyone applauding the attack on author Salman Rushdie. Glad he’s off his ventilator and able to speak now. We gonna continue write our words. If you or your religion cannot handle words, the problem is with you and your religion.
From Facebook Group : https://www.facebook.com/groups/23062929599/user/100066979374499/