Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 8
8 Mohamed Arshad Ahmedi There can be no denying that this was not the work of Salman Rushdie alone. His very limited knowledge of Islam coupled with a totally un-Islamic upbringing, the huge financial backing to this project and the similarity with earlier literary attacks on the Holy Prophet(sa) and Islam, all point to a powerful conspiracy against the religion that is regarded as a threat to Western thinking and idealism. All the signs point to a conspiracy between the Jews and the Christians in collusion with a mercenary, or indeed a modern day Faust. It was as if this union or marriage was devised and made, not in Heaven, but in the other place ! I shall examine just some of the attacks on Islam and the Holy Prophet(sa) from the medieval times to the present day, which show harsh similarities, through the literary works of commentators and orientalists. It will become evident how the same limited school of thought and references has been employed by the Western writers through- out the centuries and how they have tried to portray a completely distorted and untenable image of Islam and of its Prophet(sa). It will also become evident that the finished package of The Satanic Verses is a culmination of all the previous attacks on the Holy Prophet(sa); the only difference being that this book was pre- sented in a most vindictive and malicious fashion using the foulest of language.