Iranian media say Tehran has written a letter to protest at the invitation of author Salman Rushdie as a guest speaker at the prestigious Frankfurt Book Fair. Iran issued a fatwa against the writer in 1989.
Iran's Deputy Culture Minister Abbas Salehi told the ISNA news agency that Tehran was opposed to Rushdie's planned presence at the fair next week, and would try to persuade other Muslim countries to join it in protesting to the organizers.
"When we learned of the presence of Salman Rushdie at the book fair in Frankfurt, we sent a letter of protest and called on other Muslim countries to do the same," Salehi was quoted as saying on Monday, adding: "We will seriously consider not participating."
A spokeswoman for the book fair declined to confirm to DW the receipt of such a letter. [Deutsche Welle] Read more
