Iran condemns Rushdie knighthood

Iran today condemned Britain's decision to grant a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie, who was forced into hiding for a decade after the Islamic republic’s spiritual leader ordered his assassination.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said the decision to grant Britain’s highest honour to Rushdie, who wrote the controversial novel “The Satanic Verses”, was an insult to the Muslim world.

“Awarding a person who is among the most detested characters in the Islamic society is obvious proof of anti-Islamism by ranking British officials,” said Hosseini during his weekly press conference.

Rushdie went into hiding after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill the author because his novel allegedly insulted Islam.

The Iranian government declared in 1998 that it would not support but could not rescind the fatwa. Rushdie says he receives a “sort of Valentine’s card” from Iran each year on February 14 letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to end his life.

“This (award) showed that the movement of insulting Muslims was not accidental but was a planned and organised move that enjoyed support of some Western countries,” said Hosseini.

Britain announced its decision to award Rushdie a knighthood on Saturday, along with CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour, a KGB double agent and several others.

Relations with London are already tense over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, which Tehran claims is for peaceful purposes, but many Western countries, including Britain, suspect is cover for a weapons program.

Rushdie is one of the most prominent novelists of the late 20th century and is known for his unique mix of history with magical realism. His 13 books have won numerous awards, including the Booker Prize for “Midnight’s Children” in 1981. In 1993 the novel won the “Booker of Bookers”, a special award honouring the best novel in the 25-year history of the prize.