The Satanic Verses

Front cover of a first edition of The Satanic Verses.

The Satanic Verses (ISBN 0670825379) is an award-winning novel by the Indian-British-American author Salman Rushdie that combines elements of humor, historical fiction, fantasy and social commentary. It was first published in 1988.

The main characters in the novel are two Indian men known as Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha. They are the only survivors of a hijacked Air India flight from Bombay to London that explodes over the English Channel. Both men are actors who have changed their names. Both of them were born into Muslim families in Bombay, although Saladin Chamcha does not appear to be particularly observant and Gibreel Farishta publicly renounces his faith. Gibreel Farishta is born into a poor family and goes on to become one of the biggest stars in Bollywood. He makes a career of playing Hindu gods in religious epics. Saladin Chamcha is born into a wealthy family. He spends most of his life in England and it is there that he builds his acting career. He has a talent for imitating accents and mostly does voice work on radio and in TV commercials. As the two men fall towards the sea from the bombed plane, they feel transformations coming over them that become fully realized later. Gibreel Farishta gradually comes to believe that he is an incarnation of the Archangel Gibreel (a figure referred to in the Bible as the Archangel Gabriel). Saladin Chamcha begins to physically transform into an enormous devil. Although he later regains his human form, Saladin Chamcha subsequently chooses to be evil. Other sections of the novel deal with dreams that Gibreel Farishta has. One dream is about an exiled imam who plans to lead an Islamic revolution in his home country. One series of dreams concerns a group of Indian Muslims from the village of Titlipur who follow a young woman named Ayesha on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Ayesha tells them that they will have to make the entire journey on foot and that the waters of the Arabian Sea will miraculously part for them when they arrive there. The other series of dreams provides a revisionist retelling of the early years of Islam. The novel's narrator, who briefly intervenes in he story, is revealed early on to be Satan himself.

The title refers to "Satanic Verses" that, according to Muslim tradition, were once included n he Quran. The verses stated that three popular pre-Islamic Arabian goddesses, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat, were the daughters Allah and therefore worthy of consideration. The verses were removed from the Quran when Muhammad later concluded that they were lies that had originated from Satan.

The Satanic Verses is one of the most controversial books ever written. The controversy largely arises from the sections of the novel that tell a revisionist version of the early days of Islam. Among other decisions that caused offense to Muslims, in those sections, Rushdie chose not to refer to Muhammad or Mecca but instead to Mahound and Jahilia. "Mahound" was a name under which Muhammad was demonized in works of medieval English literature. Jahilia is a name that Muslims give to what they consider to be the time of ignorance before the coming of Islam. Many Muslims considered the novel to be blasphemous. Protests against the book by Muslims in the United Kingdom and around the world followed soon after its publication. On February 14, 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran and one of the most prominent leaders in Shi'a Islam, issued a fatwa declaring it was the duty of all Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie and all those involved in the publication of The Satanic Verses. As a consequence, Rushdie had to live in hiding under an assumed name for many years. Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of The Satanic Verses, was murdered in 1991. On August 14, 2022, as he was about to give a lecture in Chautauqua, New York, Salman Rushdie was repeatedly stabbed, left seriously wounded and hospitalized.

Plot

Part I - The Angel Gibreel

The novel opens with the only two survivors of the bombed Air India plane Bostan falling towards the English Channel. Those two men are Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha.

Gibreel Farishta is born Ismail Najmuddin into a poor family in Bombay. He earns the nickname Gibreel Farishta (Angel Gabriel) at a young age due to his angelic appearance. Like his father before him, as a boy, Gibreel begins to earn a living delivering hot lunches to office workers around the city. Both of his parents die while he is still young, after which the owner of the food delivery company becomes his foster father. Recognizing Gibreel's talent, his foster father uses his connections with the movie business to get the young man's acting career started. Gibreel becomes one of the biggest stars in Bollywood and specializes in playing Hindu gods in religious epics.

Following his recovery from a serious illness, Gibreel loses his Muslim faith, which he publicly demonstrates by eating pork at a hotel restaurant. It is there that Gibreel meets the Englishwoman Alleluia "Allie" Cone, a former mountaineer who climbed Everest accompanied by only one Sherpa. Gibreel and Allie fall in love with each other. When Gibreel's former lover Rekha Merchant, the wife of a wealthy businessman who made his fortune from carpets, finds out about his relationship with Allie, she jumps to her death from her high rise home after throwing her children to their deaths first. For the remainder of the novel, Gibreel is haunted by what appears to be Rekha's ghost on a flying carpet.

After Rekha's death, Gibreel Farishta mysteriously disappears from public view. He has decided to abandon his Bollywood career and follow Allie back to England. He boards the Air India plane Bostan heading to London.

Saladin Chamcha is born Salahuddin Chamchawala into a wealthy Muslim family in Bombay. As a child, he is unhappy in Bombay and has a difficult relationship with his father, Changez Chamchala. Changez owns an antique lamp which looks just like Aladdin's magic one from One Thousand and One Nights. The young Salahuddin is not allowed to touch the lamp but is told he will inherit it when his father dies. Changez later tells his son that he will never inherit the lamp because of his disobedience. The young Salahuddin dreams of going to England, especially London. His dream comes true when his father sends him to boarding school there. Saladin becomes further estranged from his father after his mother dies and Changez remarries. The name of Changez's second wife is Nasreen, which was also the name of Salahuddin's mother.

Salahuddin has no wish to return to India. He becomes an actor in England and shortens his name to Saladin Chamcha for professional reasons. He marries Pamela Lovelace, a white Englishwoman from an upper class background who now works as a social worker. Saladin has a gift for imitating accents of all kinds. That makes him much in demand for radio and voiceovers on TV commercials, which make up most of his work. He does, however, appear on screen, under heavy prosthetics as one of the most popular extraterrestrial characters on the children's TV program The Aliens Show. His co-star on The Aliens Show is Mimi Mamoulian, a Jewish actress who, like Saladin, has a gift for imitating accents and mostly does voiceovers. Saladin also occasionally does some theater work.

Saladin returns to Bombay for the first time in many years when he goes there to perform as part of the cast of a George Bernard Shaw play. While in Bombay, Saladin begins having an affair with his old acquaintance Zeeny Vakil, an artist and author who is active in left-wing political circles. Saladin falls out of love with Zeeny when they visit his father's house. Saladin is shocked to find out that his father is openly having an affair with one of his servants of many years, with the full knowledge both of his wife and the servant's elderly husband. Saladin is appalled but Zeeny does not see anything wrong with the situation and behaves very flirtatiously with Changez. Saladin gives up any thoughts he may have had about remaining in India after that and boards the Air India plane Bostan to London.

The plane is hijacked by four terrorists, Sikh extremists whose leader is a woman with a Canadian accent. The plane lands in the Arabian desert and remains there for one hundred and eleven days. During that time, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha get to know each other. The terrorists realize that their demands will not be met and the plane takes off again without any fixed destination. While the terrorists are arguing among themselves, they accidentally detonate their bomb. The plane blows up over the English Channel.

Part II - Mahound

For some time, Gibreel Farishta has been having troubling dreams that depict a revisionist version of the early days of Islam. The most troubling part about the dreams is that each time Gibreel falls asleep, the dream narrative continues from the point where it ended when he previously awoke. In his dreams, Gibreel sees himself as both the Archangel Gibreel and the Prophet Mahound.

14th century Persian depiction of Muhammad receiving a revelation from the Archangel Gabriel.

Mahound lives in the city of Jahilia. He has founded a religion called Submission. Whereas most of the people of Jahilia worship many gods, Mahound teaches that there is only one God known as Allah. He claims to receive revelations from God that are spoken to him by the Archangel Gibreel and written down soon afterwards. Mahound and his growing number of followers are regarded with great suspicion by the authorities, including Abu Simbel the Grandee of Jahilia and his wife Hind. Abu Simbel hires the famous satirical poet Baal to write verses lampooning Mahound, his followers and their new religion. Those satirical verses fail to put an end to the growing popularity of Submission. The persecution of Mahound and his followers becomes officially permitted.

Abu Simbel approaches Mahound and tells him that he and his followers will be shown greater tolerance if he acknowledges the existence and importance of the three most popular goddesses in Jahilia, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat. Shortly afterwards, Mahound announces that the Archangel Gibreel has told him that Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat are worthy of consideration because they are the daughters of Allah. Shortly afterwards, however, Mahound begins to feel deeply troubled by the revelation. He receives another revelation, telling him that the earlier one came from Satan. Mahound again asserts that there is only one God and that Allah has no daughters. Persecution of Mahound and his followers resumes. Hind has Mahound's uncle killed and eats his heart. Mahund and all his followers leave Jahilia for the more tolerant city of Yathrib.

Satan, the novel's narrator, states that he was the true source both of the revelation that said the three goddesses were the daughters of Allah and of the later one that said they were not.

Part III - Ellowen Deeowen

As they fall from the bombed plane, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha feel that changes are coming over them. At Saladin's prompting, Gibreel is able to fly down the last part of the way and carry Saladin to safety with him. They land in the English Channel and come ashore near the spot where William the Conqueror launched his invasion of England in 1066. The part of the beach where they arrive is the private property of an elderly woman who lives nearby named Rosa Diamond. Although she usually chases all trespassers away, Rosa Diamond allows the two men to stay with her. Saladin telephones his wife. When a man answers the phone, Saladin assumes he has the wrong number.

Somebody saw Gibreel and Saladin come ashore, took them for illegal immigrants and informed the police. Police and immigration officers come to Rosa Diamond's house. They arrest Saladin but do not arrest the less foreign-looking Gibreel. Saladin is devastated that Gibreel does not speak out on his behalf. In the custody of he immigration officers, Saladin finds that he has grown goat's horns and has goat's legs. The immigration officers verbally and physically abuse Saladin. They do not believe him when he says he is a British citizen and one of the stars of The Aliens Show. They are not, however, the least bit surprised that Saladin is part goat. Saladin is eventually able to convince the men to check their computer. They find out that Saladin is indeed a British citizen ad a television actor. The fact that he is badly injured from the beating they have given him leaves the immigration officers uncertain about what they should do with Saladin.

Saladin wakes up in a hospital. He is cared for by an Afro-Caribbean nurse named Hyacinth Philips. She does not appear to be surprised that Saladin is part goat either. Saladin finds out that all the patients in the hospital are immigrants who have been transformed or partially transformed into animals, plants or inanimate objects. Uncertain about what is to become of them, the patients decide to escape from the hospital. Hyacinth helps them in their escape and goes with them. Saladin makes his way back to London.

The man who answered the telephone when Saladin called his wife was his friend Jumpy Joshi. After Saladin's supposed death on board the bombed Air India flight, Jumpy Joshi and Saladin's wife Pamela began a romantic relationship. The telephone call caused Jumpy Joshi to believe that Saladin could still be alive. Pamela, however refused to accept that possibility. When Saladin arrives home in his transformed state, Pamela refuses to allow him to stay for more than one night.

Gibreel stays with Rosa Diamond for a considerable time. She tells him about her youth in Argentina where she met her husband, the wealthy British-Argentinian Henry Diamond also known as Don Enrique. Gibreel sees the people and places that Rosa talks about as very clear visions. The reality of Rosa's past in Argentina becomes as real to Gibreel as the reality of his present in England. When Rosa dies, Gibreel dresses smartly in some of Henry Diamond's old clothes and makes his way to London. On the train, Gibreel meets an immigrant Indian businessman named John Maslama. He recognizes Gibreel as the missing Indian film star Gibreel Farishta. In a religious fervor, John Maslama also proclaims his fellow passenger to be the Archangel Gibreel who has come to bring about the end of the world, something that Gibreeel refuses to believe.

Part IV - Ayesha

The fourth section of the novel deals with more dreams that Gibreel Farishta has. In those dreams, he sees himself again as the Archangel Gibreel.

The first dream is about an exiled conservative imam from the land of Desh. The Imam calls on the Archangel Gibreel to kill he ruler of Desh, the Empress Ayesha who is an incarnation of the goddess Al-Lat. Although he does not want to, Gibreel finds himself compelled to carry out the Imam's orders. The Imam is then able to return to Desh and become its supreme leader.

The second dream is the first of a series of dreams abut the people of Titlipur, a Muslim village in India hat has long been home to vast numbers of butterflies.

The wealthy Mirza Saeed Akhtar and his wife Mishal find themselves unable to have children. They adopt Ayesha, a wandering teenage toymaker, after they find her in their courtyard eating butterflies that are flying into her mouth. Ayesha gains a reputation for being a holy woman. The clown Osman. a convert from Hinduism, is besotted by her beauty. One day, Ayesha's hair suddenly turns white and she appears clothed only in live butterflies. She says she has slept with the Archangel Gibreel.

Ayesha says that Mishal has terminal breast cancer, a diagnosis confirmed by a doctor. According to Ayesha, Mishal can be cured if she and all of the other people of the village make a pilgrimage to Mecca and do the journey entirely on foot. Although the Arabian Sea lies between the pilgrims and their destination, Ayesha says the Archangel Gibreel has told her that the sea will miraculously part when they come to it and allow them to continue walking. Ayesha convinces everyone in the village apart from Mirza Saeed. All of the pilgrims set off on foot on their long journey. The butterflies leave the village and go with them. Mirza Saeed follows in his Mercedes-Benz to make sure that Mishal is safe.

Part V - A City Visible But Unseen

In spite of their romantic rivalry, Jumpy Joshi still tries to be helpful towards Saladin. He arranges for Saladin to stay at the café and guest house of his friends the Sufiyans. The Sufiyans' teenage daughters, Mishal and Anahita, are impressed and delighted by Saladin's Devil-like appearance. Saladin stays out of sight in his room, where Mishal and Anahita bring him food. Nevertheless, other people in the neighborhood somehow become aware of him. They all have dreams about the Devil man. When they fall asleep again, the dreams continue from the point where they finished the previous night. Pictures of the Devil man start to appear in the neighborhood and he becomes a hero to the Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities.

Saladin learns that both he and Mimi Mamoulian have been replaced on The Aliens Show. Mimi has begun a relationship with the Pakistani businessman Billy Battuta.

Saladin grows steadily larger. Eventually he becomes too big to stay at the Sufiyans' guest house any longer. Mishal and her older boyfriend, the lawyer Hanif Johnson, arrange for Saladin to sleep at the Hot Wax night club. The night club gets its name because it hosts a number of wax mannequins. Some of them represent Black and Asian heroes and heroines. Others represent villains from the White establishment. Each night, the DJ, an albino of Indian descent known as Pinkwalla, asks the crowd at the Hot Wax which of the villain mannequins should be melted in a giant microwave oven. Margaret Thatcher is the one usually chosen.

Saladin spends a sleepless night consumed with anger towards Gibreel Farishta, whom he blames for all of his problems. In his rage, he lets out a blast of fiery breath that melts all of the mannequins at the Hot Wax, heroes and villains alike. That burst of rage transforms Saladin once again. The following morning, Mishal and Hanif Johnson find him returned to his normal size and human form.

Gibreel is reunited with Allie Cone and they resume their relationship. Gibreel moves in with her and they stay together for some time. This comes to an end when he sees a vision of God, in the form of a balding middle-aged man wearing glasses and suffering from dandruff, who suddenly materializes in Gibreel's bedroom. God tells Gibreel that he is the archangel of the same name and it is his duty to spread the word of God around London. Satan, the novel's narrator, later admits that he was the one who really materialized before Gibreel.

Gibreel spends a considerable time traveling around London, trying to tell everyone that he is an archangel sent by God. He gradually takes on the appearance of a dirty homeless person and is dismissed as crazy by most of the people he meets. The only person he almost manages to convince of his angelic nature is Orphia Philips, an Afro-Caribbean woman who sells tickets at a London Underground station and is Hyacinth Philips' sister. When Gibreel tries to solve Orphia's romantic problems, however, he only makes the situation worse. She then angrily orders Gibreel away and he purposefully walks into oncoming traffic.

The car that drives towards Gibreel is driven by S.S. Sisodia, a Bollywood film producer who is an old acquaintance of Gibreel. S.S. Sisodia takes Gibreel back to Allie Cone's house. The two of them arrange for Gibreel to have treatment for schizophrenia. He appears to recover almost immediately. Sisodia then offers him the part of the Archangel Gibreel in an upcoming Bollywood film. To announce to the world that the missing movie star Gibreel Farishta is back, Sisodia arranges for him to headline a show in London at which many Indian celebrities are to appear. To great excitement from the audience, Gibreel takes to the stage. He rises up high into the air and disappears. The next thing he knows, he is lying on Allie Cone's doorstep.

Part VI - Return to Jahilia

The sixth part of the novel continues the narrative of Gibreel's dreams about Mahound.

15th century Persian depiction of Muhammad receiving a revelation from the Archangel Gabriel.

It is twenty-five years since the evets of Part II. Mahound has gained many new followers in the city of Yathrib and has grown more powerful. One of his original followers, Salman the Persian, has, however, grow disillusioned with Mahound. Salman has noticed that all the divine revelations received by Mahound always come at the most convenient time for him and always favor Mahound and his point of view. Tasked with writing down all of Mahound's revelations, Salman tests his suspicions by making small changes to all of them. Mahound does not correct the verses when they are read back to him and does not notice what Salman is doing for a long time. When he does eventually notice, Salman flees back to Jahilia. He seeks out the poet Baal and tells him how he has come to lose his faith.

Shortly afterwards, Mahound returns to Jahilia. He coverts most of the city to Submission. Abu Simbel the Grandee of Jahilia becomes a willing covert. Even his wife Hind pays lip service to the new religion. Mahound orders the destruction of the temple of the goddess Al-Lat. He knows that the temple has been truly destroyed when the follower tasked with carrying it out says he saw a vision of Al-Lat dying. A theocracy is established that forces everyone to follow the laws of Submission. Dissent is not tolerated. Fearful because of the mocking verses he once wrote about Mahound and his new religion, Baal goes into hiding.

Baal is given sanctuary inside a brothel called The Curtain. He disguises himself as a Black eunuch. One day, Baal hears a customer complain that, although he only allows his followers to have three wives, Mahound himself has twelve. Baal has an idea that he thinks will excite the customers of The Curtain. Since twelve prostitutes work at the brothel, Baal suggests they pretend to be the twelve wives of Mahound and adopt their names. The idea is a big hit with customers. The twelve sex workers increasingly take on the personalities of the twelve women whose names they have adopted. They eventually ask Baal to pretend to be their husband and urge him to try to behave a bit more like Mahound.

Salman visits Baal one more time to tell him that he is leaving Jahilia because he can no longer put up with Mahound's theocratic rule. Shortly afterwards, prostitution is outlawed. The Curtain is raided. All of the prostitutes and eunuchs are arrested. The twelve women have been using the names of Mahound's wives for so log that they can no longer remember what their real names are. The prostitutes and eunuchs are condemned to death. Baal reveals his true identity before he is executed.

Not long afterwards, Mahound dies. The last thing he sees is a vision of the goddess Al-Lat taunting him.

Part VII: The Angel Azrael

A serial killer who has been dubbed the Granny Ripper is targeting old women. The Black activist Dr. Uhuru Simba is arrested for the murders. In spite of his problematic behavior towards women in the past, many in the Afro-Caribbean and Asian communities believe Dr. Uhuru Simba is innocent. Jumpy Joshi and Saladin attend a rally at the community center in support of Dr. Uhuru Simba. While there, Saladin sees flames on Mishal Sufiyan's forehead. He also has a vision of the Angel Azrael coming to strike him. Saladin concludes that, although he has returned to human form, he has truly transformed into a Devil and he should therefore succumb to evil. He decides to kill Gibreel, whom he still blames for all his troubles.

Saladin and Gibreel are both invited to a party hosted by Billy Battuta and Mimi Mamoulian on the set of a movie adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Our Mutual Friend. The medication he is taking to control his schizophrenia results in Gibreel not recognizing the violent intentions that Saladin has towards him. Saladin is, however, able to convince Gibreel that Allie is having an affair with Jumpy Joshi. Gibreel attacks Jumpy Joshi with a view to killing him but only succeeds in knocking him out.

Saladin sees Gibreel several times afterwards but cannot brig himself to kill him. During one meeting, Saladin is given a lot of unwanted information by Gibreel about his sex life with Allie. Saladin then makes use of that information and his talent as a voice actor. He makes a series of nuisance phone calls to the home of Allie and Gibreel. Using a variety of accents and often speaking in rhyme, Saladin is able to convince Gibreel that Allie is having an affair. Gibreel's mental health worsens. In a fit of jealousy, he destroys everything that Allie owns connected to Mount Everest, including a unique hand-carved wooden model of the mountain given to her by the Sherpa who accompanied her on her climb. After that, Allie throws Gibreel out in the certainty that she will never allow him back. Gibreel once again believes himself to be the archangel of the same name. He goes in search of he angel Azrael to bring about the end of the world. In the window of a music shop belonging to John Maslama, he sees a sign welcoming the coming of the Archangel Gibreel. John Maslama gives Gibreel a trumpet and refuses to take any payment for it. Gibreel names the trumpet Azrael. He puts it to his lips and blows.

Dr. Uhuru Simba dies in mysterious circumstances while in police custody. The Granny Ripper murders continue, thus proving his innocence. Riots break out. A fire is started at the community center in which Saladin's wife Pamela and Jumpy Joshi die. Another fire is started at the Sufiyans' café. Saladin goes into the burning building to save the Sufiyans but becomes trapped. Gibreel follows him. Although he has realized that Saladin was behind the taunting phone calls he received, Gibreel saves his life.

Part VIII - The Parting of the Arabian Sea

The eighth part of the novel continues the narrative about the pilgrims of Titlipur from Part IV.

The pilgrims, accompanied by vast numbers of butterflies, pass the home of Sri Srinivas, a toy merchant who was once Ayesha's employer. Although he is a Hindu, he decides to join the pilgrimage. Pilgrims begin to die from hunger, thirst and old age. Ayesha commands that the bodies of the dead be left by the side of the road. Mirza Saeed tries unsuccessfully to persuade the pilgrims to turn back. Some of the travelers, do, however, begin to have doubts and choose to join Mirza Saeed in his now battered Mercedes-Benz. Those doubters are Osman the clown, Sri Srinivas, Mishal's mother Qureishi and the village elder Muhammad Din whose wife died on the journey.

The pilgrimage begins to attract media attention and becomes a focus of anti-Islamic hatred. An angry mob of Hindus is waiting for the pilgrims when they arrive at the seaside suburb of Serang. A torrential rainstorm disperses the mob and ensures that no harm comes to the pilgrims.

The pilgrims are welcomed into the local mosque. An abandoned baby has been left outside the building. The imam asks Ayesha what should be done with the baby. Ayesha says that the illegitimate child was conceived and born in sin and should therefore be stoned to death. Following that, many of the pilgrims lose faith in Ayesha. Nevertheless, everyone follows her to the Arabian Sea. The butterflies take the form of the Archangel Gibreel, restoring the faith of those who had just lost it. Ayesha and her followers walk into the sea and disappear from sight. Mirza Saeed and the other doubters dive into the sea and try in vain to stop them from drowning.

The doubters are all rescued from the sea and taken to a hospital. Apart from Mirza Saeed, they all say that they saw the pilgrims walking along the sea bed towards Mecca. They stick to this story even when they are told that bodies of the drowned pilgrims have begun washing up on shore.

Mirza Saeed goes back to Titlipur alone and allows himself to starve to death. Just before he dies, Mirza Saeed has a vision of Ayesha. Having faith in her at last, Mirza Saeed sees the Arabian Sea miraculously part and joins her to walk across the sea bed.

Part IX - A Wonderful Lamp

Eighteen months after being saved from the fire, Saladin receives word that his father is dying. Saladin returns to Bombay to care for him. Father and son are reconciled and Saladin also comes to accept his stepmother. As a sign of their reconciliation, Saladin's father tells him that he will inherit the lamp like the one from One Thousand and One Nights after all. After his father's death, Saladin reverts to using his birth name of Salahuddin Chamchawala. He resumes his relationship with Zeeny and, through the influence of her and her friends, he even attends Communist Party meetings, something he would never have considered doing before.

Gibreel returns to India to resume his acting career. His dreams about Mahound and the pilgrims of Titlipur are both made into Bollywood movies in which he stars. Both films perform very badly at the box office. Believing that Gibreel's film career would improve if he were happier in his love life, S.S. Sisodia arranges for Allie Cone to come to India. Still tormented by the phone calls he had about her infidelity, Gibreel murders Allie and S.S. Sisodia. Gibreel confesses what he has done to Saladin before killing himself.

Awards and nominations

The Satanic Verses won the 1988 Whitbread Award for novel of the year. It was a finalist for the 1988 Booker Prize but lost to Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda.

Controversy and its consequences

Protesters against The Satanic Verses in The Hague, the Netherlands on March 3, 1989.

Muslim readers have taken offense at several elements in The Satanic Verses. These include Rushdie's referring to Muhammad as "Mahound", referring to Mecca as "Jahilia" (meaning "the time of ignorance before the coming of Islam"), giving sex workers the same names as Muhammad's wives, naming the young woman who leads the people of Titlipur on a suicidal pilgrimage after Muhamad's wife Ayesha and naming the character who transforms into a devil after the famous 12th century Muslim warrior Saladin who fought against the Crusaders.

Protests against The Satanic Verses as offensive to Islam followed soon after its initial publication on September 26, 1988. On October 5, 1988, import of the book into India was banned. By the end of 1989, the book would also be banned in Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand and Venezuela.

The first time a copy of The Satanic Verses was publicly burned at a protest was in the English city of Bolton, Lancashire on December 2, 1988. That burning drew very little media attention. In contrast, a burning of the book at a protest in the English city of Bradford, West Yorkshire on January 14, 1989 drew a great deal of international media attention. On May 27 1989, more than 15,000 people gathered in London's Parliament Square, called for the book to be banned and burned Rushdie in effigy.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

On February 14, 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran and one of the most important figures in Shi'a Islam, issued a fatwa calling on all Muslims to execute Salman Rushdie and all those involved in the publication of The Satanic Verses. The 15 Khordad Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Ayatollah Khomeini, offered a reward of US$3 million to any Iranian who killed Rushdie or US$1 million to anyone else who killed him. On February 17, 1989, Iranian president Ali Khamenei said that Salman Rushdie might be pardoned if he apologized. The following day, Rushdie issued an apology in which he expressed profound regret for any distress caused by The Satanic Verses. The apology was rejected by Ayatollah Khomeini, who stated that the death sentence against Rushdie would continue to stand regardless of what he might do to try to atone. Iran broke diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on March 7, 1989. Salman Rushdie went into hiding and lived under constant armed guard. According to Rushdie's former wife, the American author Marianne Wiggins, they moved every three days and moved fifty-six times within the first few months of the death sentence against Rushdie being issued.

On February 28, 1989, bookstores in Berkley, California were firebombed for stocking The Satanic Verses. On the same day, the offices of the weekly newspaper The Riverdale Press in New York City were firebombed for publishing an editorial in support of the novel and condemning bookstores that refused to stock it. Regardless of security issues, many booksellers decided to stock The Satanic Verses because its notoriety ensured that it sold very well. Rushdie earned US$2 million from sales of The Satanic Verses within the first year of its publication and it is still the best selling book ever published by Viking.

Following Ayatollah Khomeini's death in 1990, Rushdie signed a statement declaring that he had become a religious Muslim and calling on his publishers, Viking Penguin, not to issue The Satanic Verses in paperback or allow it to be translated.

On July 11, 1991, Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of The Satanic Verses, was stabbed to death. Ettore Capriolo, the novel's Italian translator, was stabbed and seriously wounded. In October 1993, William Nygaard, the Norwegian publisher of The Satanic Verses, was shot and seriously wounded. Thirty-seven people died in Sivas, Turkey on July 2, 1993 when a hotel was burned down by Islamist radicals. The hotel was hosting a literary festival attended by Aziz Nesin, a Turkish writer who had expressed support for Rushdie and a desire to have a Turkish translation of The Satanic Verses published. The Islamists demanded that Nesin be handed over for summary execution and burned down the hotel when he was not. Aziz Nesin escaped the fire and survived.

As part of measures to restore diplomatic ties between Iran and the United Kingdom, the Iranian government announced in 1998 that it would not help anyone to kill Salman Rushdie. Rushdie then came out of hiding and revealed that he had not really become religious. Statements issued by the Iranian government and related bodies in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2016. however, indicated that the death sentence against Salman Rushdie had not been lifted.

On August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie was stabbed as he was about to deliver a lecture in Chautauqua, New York. The stabbing left him with severed nerves in one arm, the loss of the use of one hand, liver damage and the loss of one eye.

See also

• Midnight's Children

External links

• The Satanic Verses on GoodReads.