The Issue of Blasphemy

a reward to anyone who could “civilise” Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian ruler. “The People,” a London weekly tabloid, stated that the money would be given to anyone who could convince Ayatollah Khomeini to repent and publicly recite the sixth and ninth commandments from the Christian Bible, which are “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Mr. Robert Maxwell’s statement is seen as a satire, presenting Islam as a religion associated with violence while portraying Christianity as a religion characterized by compassion and tolerance. Distorting the Image of Islam The TIME magazine featured a cover story on February 27, 1989, discussing Ayatollah Khomeini’s condemnation of the book ‘The Satanic Verses’ as being against Islam. The report also touched upon the reaction of political leaders in the West, expressing their outrage at one country calling for the death penalty on citizens of another country. It raised concerns about how free societies can effectively protect themselves and their citizens against such intense and unpredictable intimidation (p. 6). As depicted in the TIME report, the perception of the people in the West indirectly impacts Islam. In other words, it suggests that the West, which has established an environment of free movement within their countries, views the entry of Islam into their society as a serious threat to their way of life. This perception stems from regarding it