The 1989 fatwa imposed by Iran's late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Salman Rushdie for his novel "the Satanic Verses” has haunted many liberal novelists and thinkers whose writings were also seen as insulting to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
The attempt on Rushdie's life in New York on Friday is not an isolated incident. Novelists, academics and journalists — particularly in the Middle East — who dared to criticize or question Islamic beliefs have faced similar threats or condemnation from religious figures.
They were either murdered, arrested, flogged or forced into hiding or exile. Their books were banned and denounced as blasphemous by religious establishments funded by governments the West regarded as allies and advocates of moderate Islam such as Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.