Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 114
114 Mohamed Arshad Ahmedi argue according to the principles of Nature. However, he conceded that his philosophy might be indirectly opposed to truth according to the faith, but he had never meant to impugn that faith. In the end his inquisitors managed to make him fall to his knees and beg for mercy. ‘I hate and detest all the errors I have at any time committed as regards the Catholic Faith and decrees of the Holy Church,’ he de- clared, ‘and I repent having doubted anything Catholic. ’ (Quotations from Boulting, Bruno; pp. 276,277). None-the-less, the entreaty failed and Bruno stayed in prison. Salman Rushdie’s tale of woe is strikingly similar. His novel brought him into direct conflict with the Muslim Ulemma and he was charged with blasphemy and heresy. And when confronted about his controversial work, he defended his actions vehemently and expressed his right to freedom of speech; he added, nevertheless, that he had never meant to defame Islam or the Holy Prophet(sa). Later, Rushdie also repented and wished to be taken back into the fold of Islam, but when, in spite of this, the edict of the fatwa was not lifted, he reverted to defending his novel once more and fighting even more forcefully for writers’ rights. Bruno was later moved from Venice to Rome, as the chief in- quisitor at the Holy Office said that Bruno was no ordinary heretic; he was regarded as a ‘heresiarch’ - an originator and leader of her- esy. He was kept in the dungeon of the Roman Inquisition for seven years. He was charged again with several counts of heresy and at a fi nal interrogation Bruno declared that he would recant nothing. He was duly sentenced to be burnt at the stake which was executed on February 17, 1600. ( Treason Against God, Leonard Levy; pp. 152-155). Rushdie also has dared to come back into the public limelight. After seven years in hiding, he had had enough and in September 1995, he made his first pre-announced public appearance to promote his newest novel, The Moor’s Last Sigh. He is totally unrepentant in spite of the fact that the threat of the fatwa is still hanging over his head. Perhaps this is a very brave action on the part of Rushdie,