The Satanic Verses controversy undermine the people's genuine Islamic morals. and claimed an unnamed British foreign secretary once told the British parliament, "So long as the Qur'an is revered by Muslims, we will not be able to consolidate a foothold among the Muslims". Despite the passionate intensity of Muslim feeling on the issue no Western government banned "The Satanic Verses." This is primarily because most Western governments explicitly or implicitly allow for freedom of expression, which includes forbidding censorship in the vast majority of cases. Western attitudes regarding freedom of expression differ from those in the Arab world because: The last point also explains
Nicolas Walter on Salman Rushdie and his book "The Satanic Verses", Walter (along with William McIlroy) re-formed The Committee Against Blasphemy Law. It issued a "Statement Against Blasphemy Law", signed by more than 200 public figures. Walter and Barbara Smoker were attacked while counter-demonstrating during a Muslim protest against the book in May 1989. Walter's book "Blasphemy Ancient and Modern" put the Rushdie controversy into historical context. Walter also served as company secretary of G. W. Foote & Co., publishers of "The Freethinker", and was a Vice-President of the National Secular Society. Walter occasionally wrote or spoke about how secular humanists might