Muslim body slams Salman Rushdie's visit, calls him apostate

Expressing displeasure over granting of visa to controversial writer Salman Rushdie by the Indian government, a Jammu and Kashmir-based Muslim body today said the author is an "apostate" and liable to be "killed".

"A meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Personal Law Board was held today to discuss the issuance of visa to Salman Rushdie and extreme displeasure and anger was expressed on the issue because Rushdie has already been found involved in apostasy and Islamic scholars have unanimously passed death edict against him as per Shariah law," JKMPLB said in a statement here.

"Rushdie's entry into India will naturally hurt the sentiments of 22 crore Muslims including those in Jammu and Kashmir," it said.

Accusing the Congress of exploiting Muslims for electoral gains, the organisation said the Centre should have been sensitive to the sentiments of the community but it is being felt that they are more interested in patronising the entry of Salman Rushdie into the country.

Several Islamic religious bodies have demanded cancellation of Rushdie's visa even as the controversial author said he does not need a visa to come here.

The 65-year-old Rushdie had earned the wrath of Muslims worldwide due to the alleged blasphemous content in his novel "The Satanic Verses", published in 1988.