The Satanic Verses controversy vilified the companions of the Prophet, calling them "bums from Persia" and "clowns", yet the character saying this is a hack poet hired to write propaganda against the Prophet and does not reflect the author's beliefs; that the book criticised Islam for having too many rules and seeking to control every aspect of life, yet while characters in the book do make such remarks these cannot constitute blasphemy since they do not vilify God or the Prophet. Before the publication of "The Satanic Verses", the publisher received "warnings from the publisher's editorial consultant" that the book might be controversial. Later,
Haroun and the Sea of Stories Haroun and the Sea of Stories Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a 1990 children's book by Salman Rushdie. It was Rushdie's fifth novel after "The Satanic Verses". It is a phantasmagorical story that begins in a city so old and ruinous that it has forgotten its name. "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" is an allegory for several problems existing in society today, especially in the Indian subcontinent. It looks at these problems from the viewpoint of the young protagonist Haroun. Rushdie dedicated this book to his son, from whom he was separated for some time. Many elements