Knighthood of Salman Rushdie a pretext to do something against (Britain). ... When your Queen awards Salman Rushdie and turns him into a knight, what do you expect? This is a blasphemy. This is an insult to all the prophets of the world." After Friday prayer services on 22 June 2007 Prominent cleric Hojatoleslam Ahmad Khatami spoke to worshipers by broadcast on state radio from Tehran. He addressed the death sentence issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against Rushdie, saying "In the Islamic Iran that revolutionary "fatwa" of Imam [Khomeini] is still alive and cannot be changed." He went on to say that "The old
Knighthood of Salman Rushdie fame of the British system. The British government must be responsible because it has created a sudden feeling of anger not just on Salman Rushdie but on the British government. They have to bear the consequences." After the "rare half-hour demonstration" the PAS members delivered a one-page memorandum to the British envoy written by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang. It read, "In the name of peace and mutual respect, we demand the award be withdrawn, and the British government distance itself from a provocateur like Salman Rushdie." On 29 June 2007 following Friday prayers the Muslim fundamentalist PAS Party again