Archive for the ‘Salman Rushdie’ category

Salman Rushdie Reveals the Power of Today’s Islamism

September 9, 2016

Salman Rushdie Reveals the Power of Today’s Islamism, Counter JihadBruce Cornibe, September 8, 2016

Author Salman Rushdie, of the controversial novel The Satanic Verses, has spent a large stint underground being protected by the British government.  This is because he allegedly blasphemed Islam’s prophet  Muhammad. Rushdie, whose life has been greatly affected by Sharia inspired laws, is speaking out against the politically correct climate of our time, The Washington Times reports:

“Today, I would be accused of Islamophobia and racism. People would say I had attacked a cultural minority,” the writer [said].  He cited as an example of the change the handling of Charlie Hebdo, where an often scabrous satirical newspaper was threatened for years by Islamists and eventually numerous employees there were killed in a terrorist attack.

“Instead of responding to attacks against freedom of expression, voices were raised to decry blasphemy and to propose compromise with terrorism. There is no blasphemy in a democracy,” Mr. Rushdie said.

In the interview, the writer decried the reluctance of Western governments to use the words “Muslim” or “Islam,” preferring instead to attribute terrorist attacks to “unbalanced” people or to a generic thing like “radicalism” or “extremism,” even when the attackers themselves say Islam is their motive.

The ‘Islamophobia’ narrative that seeks to silence any kind of criticism of Islam is in fact a type of anti-blasphemy tactic used by Islamists. Quran 33:57 states, “Indeed, those who abuse Allah and His Messenger – Allah has cursed them in this world and the Hereafter and prepared for them a humiliating punishment.” The worst part is that prominent institutions and figures are pushing this narrative. The University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Race & Gender (CRG), has even released an “Islamophobia Reporting App” for one’s cell phone. The same CRG, whose definition of ‘Islamophobia’ includes, “a perceived or real Muslim threat[.]” Also, one can speculate that London’s new Islamic mayor, Sadiq Khan, is going to try and target critics of Islamic doctrine in his effort to police “online hate crimes[.]”

Rushdie also makes good points about the dangerous atmosphere caused by Islamists leading up to the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015, and the failure of many Western leaders to call out Islamic terrorism by name. The Obama Administration’s response, or lack thereof, after the attack is pretty telling of its hesitancy to confront Islamic terrorism – the U.S. President and top-ranking U.S. officials didn’t join the Hebdo rally in Paris. Whether President Obama approves of the provocative magazine or not, he needs to still stand in solidarity against terrorism and the shedding of innocent blood.

This hyper-sensitivity against offending Islam not only shows religious favoritism to a particular group in society but also enables the Islamists and jihadists to advance their Sharia agenda. If the Salman Rushdie case and others like Charlie Hebdo do not awaken the West to action, then we can continue to watch our Western civilization and its liberties slowly vanish.

Salman Rushdie invite to Frankfurt Book Fair against freedom of expression: official

October 6, 2015

Salman Rushdie invite to Frankfurt Book Fair against freedom of expression: official, Tehran Times (Iran), October 6, 2015

(To what extent do western “democracies” share variants of this view? To what extent are anti-immigrant and other “Islamophobic” comments becoming unlawful or prohibited de facto? — DM)

TEHRAN — Deputy Culture Minister for Cultural Affairs Seyyed Abbas Salehi has said that Frankfurt Book Fair’s plan to invite Salman Rushdie violates freedom of expression.

Earlier last week, the organizers of the book fair, which is the world’s largest event in the publishing industry, said, “On the significance of freedom of expression for authors and the book industry”, Rushdie will give the keynote address at the opening press conference of the fair on October 13.

Rushdie is the author of “The Satanic Verses”, a blasphemous novel about Islam, which was published in 1988.

The book sparked Muslims’ outrage, which culminated in a fatwa by Imam Khomeini, the founder of Islamic Republic, calling for Rushdie’s death.

“If we want freedom to turn into a sustainable issue and not an overture to violence, we should provide the necessary prerequisites,” Salehi told the Persian service of MNA on Monday.

“A basic prerequisite is respect for the sanctities of every religion,” he noted.

He warned the organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair about the Rushdie invite and said, “The plan to invite Salman Rushdie would provoke feelings whose results would not be clear.”

Salehi said that Iran has sent a letter to Frankfurt Book Fair Director Juergen Boos, asking him to cancel their plans for Rushdie’s speech. However, there has been no response from him so far.

He said that Iran has also called upon other Muslim countries to protest against the Frankfurt Book Fair’s plans for Rushdie’s speech.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is slated to take place from October 14 to 18.

In addition, dozens of independent Iranian publishers are scheduled to showcase their latest offerings at the fair, which is the world’s largest event in the publishing industry.