Following the August 12, 2022 stabbing attack on British author Salman Rushdie, author of the novel The Satanic Verses that prompted Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa against him in 1989 calling for him to be killed because of the book's alleged affront to Islam, former Jordanian information and culture minister Saleh Al-Qallab criticized Rushdie for the book and did not condemn the attack on him.
Al-Qallab wrote, in an article for the Saudi website Elaph.com, that Rushdie's motive in the criminal and diabolical writing of this controversial novel was greed for publicity. No one, Al-Qallab stated, is entitled to support Rushdie's statements in the book, which have nothing to do with freedom of expression or opinion.
Saleh Al-Qallab (Al-ain.com, July 1, 2018)
The following are translated excerpts from Al-Qallab's article that was published by Elaph.com.
"The book The Satanic Verses by British author Salman Rushdie – a Muslim of Indian origin – can be defined as an act of suicide, in the full sense of the word, because this book included a [kind of] courage that is not literary, but constitutes fierce opposition to Islam and to Muslims. Many of those who sought fame so 'brazenly' encountered denunciation and condemnation. The [attempt] to gain fame in this criminal manner is not limited to Salman Rushdie; many who suffer from a sense of inferiority have sought fame in this satanic way, surely motivated by a complex of greed for fame...
"This greed for fame is a well-known [phenomenon that is both] old and new, and whoever suffers from this inferiority complex uses these terrible methods... to gain fame and to 'market' themselves to good, poor people... It is known that there are many people like Salman Rushdie and that many... tried to emulate him, and many [others] intend to incite against that which is sacred to religions to gain fame... as holders of an opinion who are attempting to market it [this opinion] to passersby and decent people.
"It is strange that many from the group of those who love publicity defended what Salman Rushdie wrote in this book of his. In essence, they are actualizing [their own] lust for fame, by hating the monotheistic religions and by attacking the Quran in order to promote themselves as holders of bold opinions.
"Every person with an opinion is entitled to express it. However, no one – whoever he may be – is entitled to support what Salman Rushdie wrote, because it has no connection to freedom of expression or freedom of opinion. This is because freedom of expression does not in any way mean attacking the sacred elements [of Islam]. The author of The Satanic Verses sought to promote himself in several 'Western political marketplaces' as someone opposed to the monotheistic religions."[1]
[1] Elaph.com, August 14, 2022.
