Indian clerics condemn Rushdie knighthood decision

Top Muslim clerics in India said today that the British government had offended Muslims all over the world by conferring a knighthood on novelist Salman Rushdie.

A grouping of several Muslim organisations including the Islamic Centre of India, All India Sunni Board and Ulema Council of India also sent a joint statement condemning the decision to the British High Commission in the capital New Delhi yesterday. The Ulema Council of India, the top body of Muslim clerics, said that the decision to honour the Indian-born author was a reflection of the anti-Islamic mind-set of the British government.