The Satanic Verses controversy The Satanic Verses controversy "The Satanic Verses" controversy, also known as the Rushdie Affair, was the heated and frequently violent reaction of Muslims to the publication of Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses", which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Muhammad. Many Muslims accused Rushdie of blasphemy or unbelief and in 1989 the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie. Numerous killings, attempted killings, and bombings resulted from violent Muslims over the novel. The Iranian government backed the fatwa against Rushdie until 1998,
Political thought and legacy of Ruhollah Khomeini Lebanese Shi'a Islamic group Hezbollah—and which continues to apply economic sanctions against Iran. Popular feeling during the hostage-taking was so high in the United States that some Iranians complained that they felt the need to hide their Iranian identity for fear of physical attack even at universities. Some books by and on Ayatollah Khomeini: Pictures of Ayatollah Khomeini: Critics of Ayatollah Khomeini: Biography of Ayatollah Khomeini Political thought and legacy of Ruhollah Khomeini Khomeinism is the founding ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Impact of the religious and political ideas of that leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, Grand