Muslim clergies in Kashmir have called for a boycott of Salaman Rushdie’s books in protest against the knighthood conferred by the British government.
SRINAGAR: Muslim clergies in Kashmir have called for a boycott of Salaman Rushdie’s books in protest against the knighthood that was conferred upon the controversial author by the British government.
Grand Mufti (cleric) of Kashmir Mufti Bashir-ud-din issued a fatwa (edict) on Wednesday asking people to stop reading Salaman Rushidie’s books and urged bookstall owners to withdraw his publications from the shelves.
“We urge Muslims to boycott all his books and other publications. The books which contain the blasphemous remarks about the Prophet should be burnt. He is an enemy of Islam,” he said.
Mufti also urged the booksellers not to sell any of the publications authored by Rushdie. “They should withdraw all his books from the shelves. If they have any book containing blasphemous remarks, it should be destroyed”, said Mufti. Grand Mufti of Kashmir renewed the Iranian fatwa calling for Rushdie’s execution. “We support and uphold the fatwa issued against him by the Islamic clerics when he wrote Satanic Versus. We unequivocally condemn the British government for conferring him with the knighthood,” he said.
Shia clergy, too, have supported Mufti Bashir for issuing a fatwa against Rushdie. “We support the fatwa. It is a right decision at a right time,” said Aga Syed Hassan Budgami, Shia spiritual leader and member of powerful executive council of moderate Hurriyat Conference.
Aga also renewed the calls for “death” to the controversial author saying “he is the biggest enemy of Muslims”. Meanwhile, Mufti Bashir has decided to launch a campaign against Rushdie and British government for this act. “We will make people aware about the misdeeds of Rushdie. We will be informing the people about the British government’s decision which has hurt the sentiments of billions of Muslims across the world,” he said.
In Chennai, opposing the knighthood of writer Salman Rushdie, a forum of Muslim journalists on Wednesday asked the British government to withdraw it. In a memorandum to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the All India Forum of Muslim Journalists warned that if the Knighthood was not withdrawn the British government would be responsible for consequences arising out of it.
The forum hoped that the British government would graciously make amends by withdrawing the knighthood ‘in deference of the wounded sentiments of Muslims worldwide’ and not turn a deaf ear to their pleas and protests.
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