Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses': An Islamic Response

Umar E Azam B.A Ph.D.

Manchester, UK

4-7 October 1990

I cannot thank enough those pupils, and friends, who urged me to write against "The Satanic Verses" from an Islamic perspective. Had it not been for their enlightening requests, this humble work would not exist. I have been delighted to have been of a little service to Islam, and only Allah knows the great extent of inner pleasure and comfort that I have felt in the course of this work. I dedicate this essay to all those who have felt even a little pain from Rushdie’s novel. May God give us all strength to serve in His Way.

I would like to acknowledge, with warmest thanks, the use of the following translation of the Holy Quran:"The Meaning of the Glorious Quran" Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali Nadim & Co, London, 1983.

Comments on the essay, negative or positive, should be sent by post to:

U.E. Azam
26 Egerton Road North
Manchester
M21 1SF

Introduction

Great publicity has been given to Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, and to Muslim objections to this literature. Apologetics of Rushdie have made so many excuses to justify the publication; that it is only a fictional novel, that the Muslims who object to it have not read it, that it has been misunderstood, that it represents free speech, that Muslims’ actions are unlawful, that Rushdie’s motives have been misunderstood, and other lame excuses. Rushdie has been portrayed as a capable artist, of the elite, who is being condemned and hunted by illiterate and savage Muslim mobs. Iran’s declaration of a death sentence on him has been seen as an interference in the affairs of Britain, in British law, by a country of fanatics.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Even the most ignorant and illiterate believer must be intelligent enough to realise what he believes, and why. As such, he is more educated, and wiser, than even a disbelieving Oxbridge professor, as regards his own faith.¹ Hence, those Muslims who protest against Rushdie’s novel, and are offended by it, including those from Iran, know of, and are affected by, something which unbelieving critics cannot realise.

What is that something? In this essay, it will be argued that Rushdie’s work is a manifestation of ‘evil’, an attack on ‘good’. Therefore, Rushdie is no different from other disbelievers who similarly mocked the Prophets [May the Peace of God be upon them) and their Messages, throughout the history of mankind.

By rejecting Islam, Rushdie has wronged his own soul.² Man has been warned against Satan,³ but is misled by evil. Rushdie will get respite for a given length of time,⁴ but his actions will be judged in the Hereafter and, if he has not believed and repented, he will be one of the doomed. His writing of the novel is not only an action which has attacked the believers, it is also a rebellion against God Himself. Those who justify his publication must also be the sympathizers of that rebellion.

Rushdie’s novel is exactly what it is called, The Satanic Verses - the verses which he has written have been inspired by Satan himself.

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What was the purpose of Salman Rushdie’s novel, The Satanic Verses? Apparently, it has been written as a literary novel, to be read as fiction, without implications for reality, intangible. In truth, however, it contains implicit suggestions which ridicule Islam, so that it may make a mockery of this great religion in real-life. Just what its appalling slander is trying to achieve is anyone’s guess. Rushdie may have wanted great financial remuneration from a controversial book, and indeed Penguin-Viking have given him substantial royalties.⁵

He may have hoped that sensationalism might make his novel famous, or rather infamous. Rushdie might simply have wanted to be known, famous himself, and, regretfully, he is now so famous that he has to stay in hiding! Finally, and most importantly, the novel could have been an evil scheme, hatched by Rushdie and his publishers, to discredit and weaken Islam.⁶ The fa.ct that it was written as a novel may have been a cowardly exit. If objections became intense, the publishers could say, "Well, it’s only fiction" as indeed has been said. The novel is, in fact, "poison-pen" writing, full of malice and spite, though Rushdie has not, fortunately, remained anonymous. Nevertheless, he was still too cowardly to write the vulgar filth as nonfiction - it would then have seemed to be ostentatiously diseased.

Most of the British public is moderate and intelligent. As in other ‘industrialised’ countries, Britain has a high rate of literacy, an essential requirement of a ‘developed’ economy. Many Britons may then have wondered why such a vulgar and distasteful book was published, even in the form of a novel. Why on Earth did Penguin-Viking, hitherto respectable publishers, endorse a piece of filth, which was likely to cause a storm of justified protest from its implicit targets -the Muslims? Nonsense can never benefit, since it is the opposite of knowledge and wisdom. To mock the revered characters of Islam must have been a primary motive for publishing the novel, and mischief-making can never benefit any soul.

Despite the publication of Rushdie’s novel, Muslims must not assume that Britons hate Islam. The vast majority of Britons are Christian, or of Christian origin, and many have been working very purposefully to remove ugly racism, and appreciate Islam. Anyhow, the publication is in no major way connected with Christians because ‘Jews⁷ have published it. The blame also lies on the former Kuwaiti government, which substantially owned Viking - an astonishing fact in the light of Kuwait being a Muslim country. The Jews of Penguin publishers are hypocrites, traitors of their own people. Rushdie has attacked the Prophet Abraham (May the Peace of God be upon him), and this has caused pain to the Muslims, who believe in all the prophets sent by God. But it should have caused pain to the Jews, for Abraham (May the Peace of God be upon him) was a Jew. Jews have also been persecuted throughout history for their transgressions, including the betrayal of the Prophet Jesus (May the Peace of God be upon him). Moreover, since Rushdie’s novel is extremist and therefore typical of a true racist, it is easily identifiable with Zionism, but definitely not with the views of the average Briton who acknowledges Islam as a major faith.

Muslims would, however, have a grievance with the interpretation of the concept of "free speech". The concept cannot be taken to ridiculous limits, to protect blatant aggression, as in the case of The Satanic Verses. "Free Speech" cannot mean ‘absolutely free’. There must logically be restrictions on what may be said and how. The fact that editors do edit books (or in Penguin’s case are supposed to edit books) because of offensive wording, extremist ides, and the like, proves this to be the case. Because of editing, certain employers may not word their advertisements as: ‘no black need apply’ or ‘young, white, middle-class male required’, since this is objectionable, although it may be a private, racist view.

So, Rushdie should have kept his poisonous and loathsome perversions and fantasies in his own sick mind. The evil publishers should have known better than to publish strange material which could only undermine their own repute and credibility. Obviously, the publishers have made a terrible mistake and this is seen by the furore, both international as well as national, that the book has caused. Penguin-Viking, though, would be too avaricious and stubborn to admit it. It is certain that they are the laughing stock of the publishing world, some publishers thanking God that they did not make the same mistake.

British legislation, or blasphemy laws, do not protect Islam, although Muslims have been resident in Britain for decades. Since there are over a million followers of Islam in Britain, such a minority is too major a force to ignore, as the Rushdie incident has shown.

Iran’s death sentence on Rushdie has been misunderstood by particularly the British media, and much political fodder has been made of it. Rushdie may live in Britain, but his novel has angered Muslims all over the world. So the issue cannot be regarded as peculiarly "British" - it involves the whole Muslim ummah, or community. Rushdie’s execution may be as deplorable as murder in the eyes of English law, but under Islamic law, it would be the penalty for defection from Islam -it would be a duty in honour of the Almighty Himself.⁸ It is not true to suggest that Muslims cannot follow Islamic law if they live in Britain - God’s Law is absolute, no matter where on Earth a Muslim may reside.

Any Muslim should be glad to kill Rushdie and, if necessary, be prepared to face the non-Islamic, secular punishment of life imprisonment, or even hanging, if it existed.^8a Secular punishment would be meted out by those unable to feel the hurt of the novel to believers, since they do not believe.

Is Rushdie unique in mocking or condemning Islam? Throughout the history of mankind, devils among men have mocked the messengers of God. So, of course, he is not unique - indeed, he is not the worst to mock what is True.⁹ Because he disbelieves, Rushdie is tempted to attack belief, and is similar to the idolaters who mocked and abused the Prophet Muhammed (May the Peace of God be upon him) in the early days of his prophethood. He is in the same mould as Jews, idolaters, atheists and other disbelievers. The arguments which God presented to the idolaters in the Holy Quran, in the Prophet’s (May the Peace of God be upon him) time, therefore apply equally to Rushdie.

If this would-be miscreant does not repent, he will be another component of Hell-Fire, joining such likes as the Pharaoh who tortured the Jews in Moses’s (May the Peace of God be upon him) time, the Jews who betrayed and rejected Jesus (May the Peace of God be upon him), the unbelievers who were punished by the flood in Noah’s (May the Peace of God be upon him) time and many, many more ‘celebrities’, including Dajjal, or the Anti-Christ. Dajjal in Islam represents the supreme evil, complete with supernatural powers of witchcraft and magic. The Anti-Christ will appear just before the end of the world, or ‘Armageddon’ in Christian terms. He will be slain by the Prophet Jesus (May the Peace of God be upon him) who is at this moment alive, never actually having been crucified.¹⁰ Islam contains a number of dichotomies: Believer/unbeliever, This life/Hereafter, Good/evil, Paradise/hell. Rushdie can be classified, as other disbelievers, as an unbeliever who attaches importance to this world rather than the next, so commits evil and will find his place among the denizens of Hell.¹¹

To recapitulate, the publication of the Satanic Verses is an evil scheme, hatched by a perverted defector from Islam and the accursed Jews, to disgrace the revered symbols of Islam, the Truth, the Word of God. This action is typical of enmity towards Islam throughout history. Since the British government are not believers, it cannot share the hurt that such blasphemy has caused. Since the government is concerned with materialism and this worldly life, it interprets the wickedness of the Satanic Verses in a secular way - as free speech in a democratic society, rather than as the ridiculing of God’s Message, and Truth itself.

Assuming that Rushdie does hate Islam, and there is no reason to dispute this, the question may be asked as to why he hates this religion? In fact, why is Islam hated by so many disbelievers, despite the fact that it is the world’s fastest-growing religion, with more converts being attracted to it than to any other religion? Suggestions will now be made.

Perhaps the major reason for the hate is that Islam disapproves of "materialism", the idea that this current, worldly life is all-important and that wealth is a ‘god’. Imagine that you are a disbeliever. All of a sudden, the world is free.¹² With the prospect of minimal punishment under secular law, assuming the punishment will be punished (adultery is not punished, nor is fornication - in fact it is encouraged), you are tempted to commit fornication, adultery and sexual indecency. You can turn to homosexuality or lesbianism. You can display your women as sex symbols and topless models. You can fulfil your selfishness to the utmost - keep on trying to get as rich as possible by whatever means, lawful, unlawful, or both. You can get drunk and act like a beast. You can get ‘high’ and take all kinds of lethal drugs. You can promote your piece of Earth’s territory and treat it with pride, discriminating against the rest of the territory. This is nationalism. You can hate fellow mankind because he looks different, despite the fact that mankind is all one family - racism.¹³ You can gamble away your usury-based’⁴ wealth selfishly. You can have a ‘wacky’ time - "you only live once, so why not make the most of it"?

But what if you are a believer? Your women must be modest, must wear scarves. Your sexual lust must be strictly controlled, you must not drink alcohol, take other intoxicants, or gamble. Add to that the having to give of charity, forsaking hunger and thirst in the Holy Month of Ramadhan and praying five times a day, and you have ‘submission’, whereby your life has to conform to a certain pattern and your animal instincts are checked. The world would therefore seem to be a prison.¹⁵ The promised reward of Paradise would be. a lifetime away and for the unbeliever there would be no guarantee of that anyway. Is it little wonder then that certain unbelievers object to the principle at the heart of Islam - why should they forsake pleasure for pain, exchange leisure for work? Their selfishness makes them take advantage of, or. grasp, what is available now, never mind the future. Their impatience will not let them wait for the next world, the Hereafter. Their stupidity denies God, the Lord of the Worlds, and with unbelievable f oily,¹⁶ they deny the very concept of "life after death".

Man must appreciate the Mercy, Power and Glory of God - He has created us. This is the very essence of worship; we must remember God.¹⁷ But if an unbeliever is obsessed with the need to add to his wealth, to grow richer and richer, and devotes all his lifetime to this end, then, by his very actions, he is taking wealth to be his god.¹⁸ Because this is unacceptable to Islam, the unbeliever must ‘naturally’ reject Islam, which is a hindrance to greed, pride, luxury and usury.

Rather than believe the Truth, disbelievers might believe that the Holy Prophet Muhammed (May the Peace of God be upon him) was a false prophet and that he wrote the Holy Quran himself, and did not receive revelations. Such disbelief is not logical. Jesus (May the Peace of God be upon him) prophetised that Muhammed (May the Peace of God be upon him) would be sent by God with the Message.¹⁹ The Holy Quran was revealed to Muhammed. -(May the Peace of God be upon him).²⁰. The religion of Islam was not invented by Muhammed (May the Peace of God be upon him), as is widely assumed, but was continued by him.²¹ Islam was founded at the very beginning of man, at the time of Adam (May the Peace of God be upon him) himself, and it was passed on through time by many thousands of prophets, including famous ones such as Noah, Jesus, Moses, David, Abraham, Joseph (May the Peace of God be upon them all), and ending with Muhammed (May the Peace of God be upon him).²²

Islam may also be hated because the Holy Quran - God’s Word - does not suffer fools gladly. So many times in this Book has God warned man about evil, and so the unbelievers have only themselves to blame if they have been misled by Satan. They are the rebellious and will suffer in Hell. Now the unbelievers know that thy do not believe, so they must be the ones referred to in the Holy Quran. Rather than heed its warnings and take its advice by believing in the Truth, they hate the Truth, and turn against it. Islam makes it clear just who the believers are, and gives warning and bad tidings to those who reject God’s Message which, unfortunately, the rejectors do not like at all and which, furthermore, angers them.²³ But, on the Day of Judgment, Truth will prevail over falsehood.²⁴ Whatever the reason for hating Islam, the unbelievers are, in fact, making excuses to refute the Truth. In Rushdie’s case, he mocks it, but ridicule and abuse, and vile insults, will not change what is True.

Has Rushdie’s monstrous and perverted ‘book’ damaged Islam? Of course not. It certainly cannot affect God, who is the Truth. God is the Self-Sufficient²⁵. He does not Himself benefit if man works righteousness, or is Himself affected in any way if man does evil, or even abuses Him. To Him is the return, after death, and man will then be judged. Hence, Rushdie has wronged his own soul.²⁶ He has lost guidance.²⁷

Rushdie, or any other disbeliever, cannot by his mischief beguile those who believe - his disbelief will only strengthen our belief, since we will thank Him that we are rightly guided by His Mercy and Favour.²⁸ We believe that God revealed the Holy Quran through his Angel to the Prophet Muhammed (May the Peace of God be upon him) and do not doubt this one tiny atom. The enemies of Islam cannot change the Truth by making allegations which they wish were true, to justify their own evil actions. Satan it was who inspired Rushdie to write abusively, since he is fond of falsehood and all foul.²⁹ The unbelievers will not frustrate those who believe³⁰ and, what is more, the efforts of unbelievers, good or evil, are wasted.³¹ Muslims may have been hurt by the bizarre ‘novel’, but such emotion is really a blessing for them, for it illustrates their love for God and His Messengers. Furthermore, the believers will become determined to unite against evil, and in God do they put their trust, so that He may dispose of all affairs for them in the best possible way.³²

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