Ahmed Deedat convert to Christianity. Hindus and Christians had respected his oratory skills and arguments until then. But now, they rejected Deedat and united with other South African Muslim organisations in denouncing his attacks on other religions. Two years later, Jews joined the criticism after Deedat published "Arab and Israel – Conflict or Conciliation?" In 1988, following the publication of Salman Rushdie’s fictional work "The Satanic Verses", Deedat supported the fatwā of the Ayatollah Khomeini calling for Rushdie's death. He said that Rushdie "is a hypocrite and has blasphemed holy personalities. He should not be pardoned." In his last tour to Australia,
Political thought and legacy of Ruhollah Khomeini "dignity of Prophets", or "undermines moral and ethical values." One observer, Iranian political historian Ervand Abrahamian, believes that some of the more well-known violations of international human rights initiated by Khomeini—the fatwa to kill British-citizen author Salman Rushdie and the mass executions of leftist political prisoners in 1988—can be explained best as a legacy for his followers. Abrahamian argues Khomeini wanted to "forge unity" among "his disparate followers", "raise formidable -- if not insurmountable -- obstacles in the way of any future leader hoping to initiate a detente with the West," and most importantly to "weed out the half-hearted from