Ruhollah Khomeini in his hearing and in his presence." Though Rushdie publicly regretted "the distress that publication has occasioned to sincere followers of Islam", the fatwa was not revoked. Rushdie himself was not killed but Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of the book "The Satanic Verses", was murdered and two other translators of the book survived murder attempts. In a speech given to a huge crowd after returning to Iran from exile 1 February 1979, Khomeini made a variety of promises to Iranians for his coming Islamic regime: a popularly elected government that would represent the people of Iran and with which
Salman Rushdie below). In addition to books, Rushdie has published many short stories, including those collected in "East, West" (1994). "The Moor's Last Sigh", a family epic ranging over some 100 years of India's history was published in 1995. "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" (1999) presents an alternative history of modern rock music. The song of the same name by U2 is one of many song lyrics included in the book; hence Rushdie is credited as the lyricist. He also wrote "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" in 1990. Rushdie has had a string of commercially successful and critically acclaimed novels. His