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,
Deborah Rogers At the end of her life, Rogers was the chairman of Rogers, Coleridge and White. Among the authors Rogers represented were A. S. Byatt, Ian McEwan and Peter Carey. Earlier in her career she had represented Angela Carter, and (before he joined Andrew Wylie's agency) Salman Rushdie. Shortly after the professional breach, Rogers offered Rushdie her second home as a refuge from the fatwā (death sentence) imposed by Ayatollah Khomeini in February 1989. The remote farm in Powys was used by Rushdie during his decade in hiding. Rogers was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in International Publishing at the