“Thirty years ago @ImranKhanPTI was a fan at my 1982 Delhi lecture and 100% secular. Now my work "humiliates" his "faith." Which is the real Imran? (sic),” Rushdie tweeted on Wednesday.
Rushdie’s book Satanic Verses has been banned in many Muslim countries, including Pakistan, since it was published in 1988. The book is deemed disrespectful towards Muslim beliefs, a claim that Imran endorsed in a recent statement.
“The issue is not what Rushdie wrote (in his novel ‘The Satanic Verses’). The real issue is that nobody has the right to inflict pain on a society,” Imran had said during an interactive session at the Kolkata Book Fair in India on Monday.
Rushdie, who was recently disallowed to participate in the Jaipur Literature Festival even through videoconferencing, seemingly took offence to Imran describing his work as “painful”.
A Pakistani tweeter, Ammar_Haider responded to Rushdie’s tweet saying “You were sane then (sic)” to which Rushdie quipped: “On the contrary, my ideas were exactly as crazy then as they are now. (sic).”
Reacting to Rushdie’s statement, Dr Arif Alvi, PTI secretary general, put up a message on his Facebook page clarifying Imran’s position: “Rushdie should known that in 1982 he was just another author and had not published his blasphemic Satanic Verses which he did in 1988. Since then Salman Rushdie is a pariah (to say the least) in the Muslim world.”
COMMENTS (91)
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Imran Khan is guided by political expediency rather than principle. He should have accepted the invitation to India to show that he is magnanimous and tolerant.
I have been waiting for several months to hear Imran Khan condemn the slaughter of thousands of innocent Pakistanis by the TTP and other religious terrorists. All I have heard so far is the noise of deafening silence.
@Hash:
The best way to succeed is to promise everything and deliver nothing. That is exactly what IK is.
@Ashraf: what has done IK for Pakistan? Not much.
I am happy about only one thing when I read such articles, Imran Khan truly is becoming a 'fear' for many in the country and rest of the world. And that's what I like! The man can change history. Way to go Imran Khan...
It seems IK found the 'Right Path' only after coming into politics!! Sounds somewhat engineered to me. People should really ask this question: how IK will achieve /fulfil all the promises he is making. We are yet to see a single policy, hear about any solid strategy & execution plan. Let's nothing follow him without a reason. Let us all take a good look at what he has to offer, what he says and how does he think he will achieve the goals? IK needs to clarify!
Pakistanis care and appreciate Imran Khan. There is no place for Salman Rushdi among Pakistanis. Rushdi is for Indians only. Imran Khan is a Pakistani hero! So they are two opposites. Salman Rushdi should stick to his Inidan believes and politics where he belongs. Long live Imran Khan, the Pakistani hero!!
Imran is a born again fundamentalist who looks equally good in western dress! His ideas and policies are as vague as any religious text, a lot of global goodies but devoid of any specific policy and action plan on any issue confronting Pakistan.As his "movement" is getting a lot of media attention it is unraveling itself, and exposing little bit of the Kaptaan also. Looks like the Oxford years were wasted years and the tsunami is nothing more than water bubble!
I see Imran is liberal in true sense. Liberals in Pak. are usually belong to elite class and most of them are actually feudals.They never talk about the corruption of ruling class because most ot them are either friends or relatives of them. How many liberals in Pak. talk about dynastic politics in Pak. Undemocratic attitudes of political parties.
@umair:
' why is salman Rushdie showing so much interest in Imran Khan?' don't you think it was the other way around with IK firing the first shot purportedly in kolkotta?
The questions is who benefits the most from Rushdie's remarks on IK at this stage? and why is Rushdie so sensitive about Imran's religious views. People usually evolve into more spiritual beings with time (experience), and IK is no exception. I say lay off Rushdie!!
Haha it is nice to see, Salman Rushdie himself claims that his ideas "are crazy".
What's wrong with supporting someone in your youth? People change. IK has evolved into a great modern Muslim/a very thorough political leader. Salman Rushdie should keep his attention seeking ideas to himself :)
no one has rights to0o0 hurt anyones feelings specialy relegious ones !!! yess you may nt agree with some relegions or heros thats oka.....but no one has right to0o hurt relegions in the way rushdi did .....!!! thats not secularism no0o0ot at all !! when you are abusing a relegion you are hurting the millions offf its followers !!! we all should respects eachother relegions thoughts or concepts !!!
@Faisal: If Salman Rushdie was instrumental in bringing Imran Khan closer to his religion, Salman has done the religion a favour. There might be many more Imrans out there.
@wasim: Bro chill
@lida:
IK also has freedom of speech so whats the point of this debate?
@kaalchakra:
This discussion was never about the extremist groups. It was about the hypocrisy with which educated people like MR Murthy take side with domestic extremists(unconsciously though) while condoning similar groups from the other side and make sweeping judgements like this:
"As usual, many Muslims can never handle the truth, can never take the progressive path and are mostly in denial."
There is no difference between the Bajrangs and the Talibans and yes they are few but what about the "educated extremists" the hypocrites those who are quick to judge others but fail to look themselves in the mirror.
Unless and until we will learn to respect each other there is little hope for either side.
Rushdie has the freedom of speech so let him say what he says.
Anyway, since Express Tribune takes forever to publish comments, my message to Wasim bhai would be not reduce an average Muslim (as he probably sees himself) and Imran Khan supporters to the level of Bajrang Dal activists who attacked Mr Hussain. If that happens then there would be very little hope for Pakistan, indeed. Bajrang Dal is admired by very few people and groups.
@kaalchakra:
I am believing in the history told to me by the Indian newspapers, as far as excitement is concerned, just a statement by IK has excited so many Indians but I am surprised the same Indians are being apologetic and defensive when it comes to Mr Hussain's case. If the victims of Gujrat massacre had received some sort of justice I would have believed in your "Pandering and fighting" theory but that isn't true so I don't buy it.
Why there should be even a need of demanding respect for religious figures? I think you are mixing "liberal fascism" with Secularism. Does secularism means that everybody has the right to ridicule his neighbors religious beliefs or religious figures? or does it mean that religion is a personal matter, One should mind his own religion and remain indifferent if not respectful to his neighbors religion.
@kaalchakra:
But we do know the extremist hindu organizations very well and can very well imagine what they can do to the Non Hindus.
Wasim bro
You are getting unnecessarily excited about "countries." You can believe whatever history you like about Mr Hussain, and particularly about India which panders to Islamic extremists and tries to fight Hindu extremists (both types of extremists exist).
But neither Hindu nor Islamic extremist have RIGHT to DEMAND respect for their religions or religious figures.
Wasim
"People like MF Hussain do not do this or that" is not a very good argument, is it? Perhaps we did not know Mr Hussain very well.
@narayana murthy:
1998 his apartment was attacked and ravaged by hindu extremists, he consistently received life threats from hindu extremist organizations, people like MF Hussain do not go in exile if they do not have fear of persecution in their own country, life threats, threats against property, legal persecution these are all different forms of persecutions. MF Hussain lived in exile in Qatar for 13 years, he became a Qatari citizen, could you care to explain why. If you don't read your own news papers then its not my problem. Just by chanting "sarey jahan say ache hindustan hamarra" will not make it better than the rest of the world, every problem which exists in pakistan also exists in India only it is 5 times bigger.
@Mubashir
"God is gracious and forgiving."
Why is it that we leave the task of forgiving with god and that of retribution,revenge,punishment with us.
Why is Salman Rushdie showing so much interest in Imran Khan??
Mr. Rushdee it is never too late to Repent. God is gracious and forgiving. Imran may or may not have sought forgiveness from God. Have you? Please bow down before your creator... with all your ego and pride and find out the truth... Before your lights go out.
In free secular and democratic society what one says or writes can be offending and others can legally protest against. Whats wrong with that ?
In this age of age of facebook and Ipad, nothing is beyond criticism be it religion, culture, God, Presidents or Prime ministers. Everything will be under microscope and judgements passed up on. If you are faint hearted then jump up and down about being offended and if you have courage then give a fitting reply within the bounds of a modern society.
@Narayana Murthy... a great reply brother
Salman and IK are both the same, intelligent opportunists.
The real news is Imran's latest book. Imran shares how the uproar on S. Verses triggered his interest in Islam since he wanted to first understand and then defend his religion. This is something admirable about Imran something most of us didn't do. We maintain religion on a default setting rather than on reasoning and conviction. Imran's book is a must-read as it defines a proggressive, compassionate and balanced view to religion and society.
yes dude, It causes them pain to have to change for the better or worse. But natural selection takes care of that, all we gotta do is sit back relax and enjoy the show.@Loneliberal PK:
@Secular but Respectful: I wish every secular in this world start thinking like you. Thank you
@sahir: Agreed
will the real Imran Khan stand up...!
Narayana Murthy, your greatest painter and artist had to take nationality of another country not by choice, but out of fear of Hindu extremists. Is that not persecution enough? I am sure all reasonable Indians are ashamed that M F Hussain could not die in his own land. "do gaz zameen bhi na mili kooye yar mein".
Now don't blame the papers for printing. It's their business and that's what they do. That's why you have the comment box here, they printed your opinion too, didn't they?
It is time for an open Manifesto of No Respect, or why I cannot resepct your religion. No leader, no God, no idol, no book, no prophet, no artiste NEEDS or can DEMAND to be respected.
It is irrational and foolish to respect everything and everybody. We must know what we do not respect and why, and must be able to clearly articulate our lack of respect.
It is Pakistanis who insult a great religion and its teachings by their behaviour every day. Look at all encompassing terrorism against innocents in the name of religion, persecution of people of other faiths greed and arrogance. Why don't mullahs issue fatwas against them?
Why does Salman Rushdie not hang his head in shame that Hindu extremists in a country he calls his own - India, did not allow the brilliant aritst and painter M. F. Husain to die in peace in his own country. A slap on the face of Rushdie's 'secular' homeland.
Rushdie is hardly in a position to sit in judgment on Imran Khan.
Falcon,
Fair enough. One might make a good case about Rushdie's work not being very ethical, but Rushdie's right to say what he did cannot be questioned . At least, not in a legal dimension. (IK claims that Rushdie does not have this right, which I strongly disagree with)
Also, keep in mind that it's not only the disrespect of religious personalities that can offend people. As a non-religious person, I have soft spots other than religion, say, Darwinism. Your statement that this is comparatively insignificant implies that the sensibilities of the non-religious minorities are insignificant, and only the feelings of the theists should be taken under any real consideration. In other words, a verbal attack on your heroes (religious personalities) should be deemed unethical, but the same on my heroes (non-religious) is okay.
This is why we have freedom of speech. As Cynical implied, we cannot safeguard everybody's feelings, and it's unjust to defend the sensibilities of only specific group of people, like theists, under the umbrella of law or morality. So to be fair, everybody's allowed the right to say anything about any ideology.
More propaganda to discredit Imran Khan and PTI whilst the corrupt politicians incharge loot the nation. It is shocking that our newspapers are not focused on accountability of our politicians and instead hellbent on discrediting Imran Khan.
It seems the more honest you are, The more patriotic you are in Pakistan, The more you are punished.
Who cares ?!!!
@Loneliberal PK and @Cynical: I think you are juxtaposing multiple issues of religion , social evils, and legalities. Nobody is suggesting to ban criticism. Similarly, nobody is saying that hypocrisy of bashing every religion except one's own is a respectable deed. All that is being said is what was done by author is ethically questionable; at least I won't teach my child to go around bashing personalities of other religions. Issues like one's view on Darwinism are too insignificant comparatively (in fact Darwin is taught in Pakistan). Lastly, this philosophical conclusion that religion is an outmoded ideological construct is premature because humanity's social experiments with other alternatives are still a work in progress.
@narayana murthy:
The rest of the world also has access to news and we know how Mf hussain was treated when his nude paintings of hindu dieties were published he was called a butcher, he was attacked by Bajrang dal and cases were launched against him in high court, was persecuted in several different ways.
hahaha now is that a crime to change your perspective about something in 30 years? I wonder!!!
I fully support IK anyway.
@jaffer shariff:
He has done it many times we dont notice it, he is being labelled an extreme right winger because he is against US war on terror, which he thinks is imperialism in disguise and a war on islam.
Pakistan consists of both liberal as well as religious extremists...assumingly we all have freedom of speech hence one's comments shouldn't be complained as, it's worthless.
Time wasting article.
@Loneliberal PK
Well said.The problem is that in every religious denomination there are people who believe in ideas that are fixed in time and stuck in space.They find it difficult to bring a reconciliation between what they were taught to be true with what they experience in an ever changing world.This failure brings insecurity when every change (even a mere hint of), every alternate view is viewed as a threat to existence.
@Falcon
The no of things (words,paintings,sculptures and so on) that one can claim to be offensive will run into millions (in a world of six billion people).How do you take care of millions of offensive materials? When it comes to faith, no one can offend me if my faith is well grounded.
No substance in this news
Till 1988 he was not controversial when he wrote this book stanic verses
so talking about 1982 does not make sense
IK ROCKS
@Loneliberal PK: Anybody can re-evaluate the actions, admonitions, and jurisprudence of a religion as much as one wants. Islam itself had a fair share of dissenting scholars. But to turn around and target the very foundation of the religions by targeting prophets, saints, and avatars is what is disrespectful. And I think Imran hit it on the nail by saying that nobody should inflict inflict pain on any other society. Because that is what it feels like in any conservative's mind (whatever religion they be from), it is an unnecessary torture!
@Saboor: But we are ready to believe what Mansoor Ijaz has to say!
Imran was talking about Mutual respect with difference of opinion in order to have a peaceful society. In the same comment, Imran also condemn the Holocaust.
Imran is liberal in REAL sense
This is a pretty useless debate. Are you trying to suggest that no one is allowed to change his beliefs and ideas as he gets matured, more knowledgeable and experienced?
There has to be a difference between being secular and being disrespectful. I'm a secular but I love and respect the religious personalities of every religion. Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W) should also be respected by all as a great man who brought a great religion to this world.
Why the sane Imran Khan do not criticise the religious extremists in Pakistan killing other sects and who do not respect others' religious beliefs. Imran Khan's priorities have changed to suit his political ambitions.
Imran transformation started from 1992 and now what Imran is . We love you Imran.
so now we are going to judge our leaders based on what Rushdie says about them. Actions & achievements speaks for themselves, I mean Imran's achievements, world cup, hospital, honesty, love for Pakistan, effort during the recent floods. Lets love Pakistan and lets choose our leaders to the best of our ability and let Allah look into what a person is deep inside, and Allah is always just :) God bless you all
I think the question isn't whether Rushdie should or should not have written those things. The question is: what does Imran Khan think is the solution? He says nobody has the right to offend a society like that but what if someone does? Does he agree with violence and the death penalty? What if someone claims to believe in something absolutely ridiculous today, like Scientology or Mormonism or Pastafarianism, should their blasphemers be given the same punishment?
Rushdie is one of the greatest modern writers and voice against religious fundamentalism that has taken lives of millions of innocent people. This voice will never die. The more it is suppressed, the more it will rise.
Worthless news...
@Jawad: No body gets hanged. In religion there is no compulsion.
well being secular doesn't mean one has the right to insult someone else's belief and faith.
I imagine the first person to criticize or satirize the practise of satti too ended up offending quite a few people. The conundrum is that whenever the prevalent ideologies are challenged or investigated, they always end up "inflicting pain" to the society. Is the prevention of such pain a good enough reason to hamper free expression?
Are tweets news worthy?
I'd like to know how many people have actually read the book the satanic verses.... and should i be hanged for being secular as well..
Who cares what Salman Rushdie thinks about Imran Khan? He is an Indian writer who should worry about events in India and let Pakistanis worry about political leaders in their own country.
Is this news worth publishing?
What a question asked by Rushdie. A million dollar question.
1982, Rushdi had not written his infamous book till then.. he wrote it in 88