The Issue of Blasphemy

THE STORY OF RUSHDIE Pakistan, and Bangladesh taking the lead in this campaign. Protests were also organized on the streets of London. However, the majority of the Muslim world did not actively participate in this self-proclaimed jihad. Even in Iran, besides Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers, the general public did not display significant enthusiasm for joining this campaign. The Urdu Newspaper “Qaumi Awaz” (February 23, 1989) reported a scholars’ meeting in Makkah. During the meeting, Dr Abdullah Umar Naseef stated that Salman Rushdie was an apostate and that apostasy in Islam carried the punishment of death. He called for legal proceedings to be initiated against Salman Rushdie in an Islamic country in absentia. Dr. Naseef further asserted that Rushdie’s work did not fall under the category of freedom of speech but was instead a criminal act disguised as such. However, the Muslim World League was not enthusiastic about this campaign. On March 7, 1989, the Iranian government severed diplomatic relations with Britain and recalled its diplomatic and ambassadorial staff from London, as ‘The Times of India’ reported on March 8, 1989. Counter Reward ‘The Times of India’, in its news item titled “For a civilised Khomeini,” published on February 20, 1989, Section 2, page 1, reported that the British newspaper magnate Mr. Robert Maxwell had pledged 16 million ($10.6 million) as