Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 163
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 163 between Muslim and Christian societies, would enhance the spirit and temper of Islam itself as well as act as a force for global good. ’ (The Times, 30 March 1995). If this is to be the true motive for the study of the Qu’ran, then the idea should be welcomed and applauded, but if the Qur’an is to be subjected to critical study in order to distort its meaning and message, then this will prove no different than the previous super- ficial attempts to bridge the gap between Islam and the West that date back to the Middle Ages. The true motives of at least one of the theologians of the 16th century, Luther, have been clearly exposed by Hans Kung : ‘For his part, Luther had spoken out in favor of translating and publishing the Qu’ran, but only so that everyone could see what an accursed, shameful, desperate book it was, full of lies, fabrications, and all sorts of horrors. ’ (Christianity and the World Religions, p. 20). Let us hope that these ‘sorts of horrors’ are never inflicted on anyone ever again and that true ‘freedom of speech and expression’ is granted to those that are striving to bridge the divide for a peace- ful and tolerant world. Who knows, if the true picture and message of Islam is allowed to be manifested justly, then maybe, just maybe, the vision of Noel Malcolm, which he enthused about in The Daily Telegraph of 16 March 1995, will not sound so flippant and so wildly fanciful as it may do now when he talks about the Premiership of Britain: ‘Perhaps Mr. Major, who is desperate for new ideas about how to win the next election, should do what credulous Muslims think the Prince (Charles) has done already, and convert to Islam. Tories pride themselves on having had the first Jewish Prime Minister. Is this not the logical next step?’ It should be realised that only true Islam paves the way for universal peace and harmony. And for that end both Islam and the West have to be allowed to develop towards that goal without any