RUTHVEN, MALISE - A Satanic Affair : Salman Rushdie and the Rage of Islam

Great Britain, Chatto & Windus, 1990. First Edition, Binding: Cloth, Near Fine/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall 0701135913 Hardback This is a full account of the Rushdie affair pointing out how the crisis has focused attention on the cultural divide between the West and Muslim countries and secular and religious cultures. It also reveals the way in which, in a society unversed in the way of scriptural criticism and debate, the book was seen not just as an act of blasphemy, but as a fundamental attack on Islamic identity. Malise also wrote "Islam in the world". Ruthven, a free-lancer specializing in religious fundamentalism, Islamic and Christian alike, reviews the British story of The Satanic Verses incident in a lively and thoughtful manner. He offers several provocative theories about the Muslim campaign against Rushdie in the United Kingdom: that it had a great deal to do with inter-communal problems between Muslims and Hindus brought over from India; that it began as a legitimate cry of despair by offended pietists but was subsequently taken over by the fundamentalist ideologues in an effort to control Muslim life in Great Britain; and that the protest had more to do with offended honor than with matters of faith. Ruthven also argues, persuasively, that from the point of view of community relations, Ayatollah Khomeini's edict was "a disaster for the Muslims in Britain.