Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 132
132 Mohamed Arshad Ahmedi RUSH DI E FOR E WA R N E D There are many similar reports which unequivocally point the finger at Rushdie for daring to ignore sound advice. According to one report by Tom Kelsey and David Lister the ‘publishers of The Satanic Verses sought informal advice from religious experts prior to the novel’s publication and were warned that it would unleash terror beyond the control of any one person or even one country. ’ The consensus among the nine referees who included Christians and Jews and who received a draft copy from the publishers three months before publication was ‘that the book could not be consid- ered a work of fiction because it used historical figures and would therefore cause a lot of offence. . . The publishers went ahead regard- less’. (The Independent 6 March 1989). The case of the publishers seems very clear. The more contro- versy a book could develop, the more sales it would get. This turned out to be a publisher’s dream that a book could generate such con- troversy and publicity. But this dream was soon to turn into a living nightmare. At least for the author, that is. He may have been ma- nipulated by powers greater than he, and he may have been made the scapegoat, but he was not quite as innocent as he has tried to make out. A MOST POIGNA N T OBSE RVAT ION The motive of Rushdie is certainly under suspicion, and an emi- nent English author, Roald Dahl, a member of the Society of Authors, and who is perhaps the first non-Muslim to bravely expose Rushdie for what he truly represents, raised a very important question in a letter published in The Times, 28 February 1989. In it he wrote that ‘with all that has been written and spoken about the Rushdie affair, I have not yet heard any non-Muslim voices raised in criticism of the writer himself. On the contrary, he appears to be regarded as some sort of hero. . . To my mind, he is a dangerous opportunist. Clearly he has profound knowledge of the Muslim religion, its people, and he must have been totally aware of the deep and violent feelings