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 "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