The death sentence against Sir Salman Rushdie for his novel The Satanic Verses was requested by a British Muslim leader visiting Iran, an investigation has found.
The author was forced into hiding for a decade and 59 people died in protests around the world as Ayatollah Khomeini, figurehead of the Islamic revolution, issued a fatwa for blasphemy against anyone involved in the publication of the book. A Norwegian publisher was shot and a Japanese translator was murdered.
Blame for the fatwa is now being attributed to Kalim Siddiqui, director of Britain’s pro-Iranian Muslim Institute, who visited Iran before the death threat was declared. [The Times (£)] Read more
