Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 129
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 129 the Lord, he shall surely be put to death and all the congregation shall certainly stone him. . . ‘ (Leviticus 24. 14)’ O’Brien adds an en- gaging comparison: ‘So when we take Muslims to task for continu- ing to hold that blasphemy should be punishable by death, it is as if we are saying: ‘How dare you go on beating your wife, now that I have left off beating mine?’’ A year after the edict of the fatwa, an editorial comment by The Guardian (14 February 1990) gave a discerning and rational view- point in order to create some sort of compromise between the disput- ing factions. For example, it shows Islam in a compassionate light : ‘Islam is not a murderous religion. The Koran itself records the insistence of Prophet Muhammad on dealing kindly with a blasphemer who accused him of being ‘the meanest, vilest person. ’ The viewpoint also supports the anger expressed by all Muslims who ‘are understandably aggrieved by the gratuitous way in which Rushdie has insulted beliefs they hold holy. And they have every right to speak up and berate the author. ’ The editorial comment is, however, also judicious in advising the Muslims ‘to disassociate themselves from the illegal (under both British and Islamic law) fatwa,’ and also astute enough to point out that ‘only a militant minority of mullahs have in fact supported the death sentence’, and that ‘the public has been left with the drear and dangerous impression that they represent a majority. ’ And this sadly is the lasting impression that still exists due largely to the banding together of all the powerful and influential members of the anti-Islam brigade, namely the western media and the societies of authors world-wide who have turned Rushdie into a hero.