Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 101
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 101 the alterations. So there I was, actually writing the Book, or re-writing, anyway, polluting the word of God with my own profane language. ’ (p. 367). This has been the theme throughout the book; but the coup-de- grace has been the fi lthy language accompanying the story and the spiteful and mordacious calumnies levelled at the Holy Prophet(sa), his noble wives and his Companions. He has related all the famous Islamic historical events, real names and real circumstances, and he has the audacity to pass it all off as fiction. Just by way of example I shall quote only a few passages : ‘His name: a dream-name. . . . pronounced correctly, it means he-for-whom-thanks-should-be-given, but he won’t answer to that here. . . . Here he is neither Mahomet nor MoeHammered; has adopted, instead, the demon-tag the farangis hung around his neck. . . . our mountain-climbing, prophet-motivated solitary is to be the medieval baby-frightener, the Devil’s synonym: Mahound. ’ (p. 93). ‘Mahound’s anguish is awful. He asks: is it possible that they are angels? Lat, Manat, Uzza. . . can I call them angelic? Are these the daughters of God?. . . . Is Allah so unbending that he will not embrace three more to save the human race? ‘(p. 111). ‘He (Mahound) stands in front of the statues of the Three and announces the abrogation of the verses which Shaitan whispered in his ear. These verses are banished from the true recitation, al-Qur’an. New verses are thundered in their place. ‘Shall He have daughters and you sons?’ Mahound recites. ‘That would be a fine division!’ (p. 124) ‘He turned to face Ayesha. “There is no God,” he said firmly. “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet,” she replied. ’ (p. 239). The Battle of the Ditch is also mentioned : ‘Salman had persuaded the Prophet to have a huge trench dug all the way around the unwalled oasis settlement. . . A ditch: