INTRODUCTION

In 1917, when the second revolution took place and the Bolshvik government came to power in Russia, the hand that led the people may have been the hand of Lenin, and his words the words of Karl Marx, but the voice was unmistakeably the voice of Satan.

Hence Satanic Voices for the title of this book.

In the course of this investigation we will try to establish without prejudice the objectives behind the writing, promotion and defence of ‘Satanic Verses’, and identify the sources of its inspiration.

Hardly a day has gone by since February 14th, 1989, without someone, somewhere, in the name of freedom of speech, calling for a lifting of the judicial ruling, or fatwa, by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against the messenger of ‘Satanic Verses’, Salman Rushdie. The judgment was undoubtedly made with theological as well as national security considerations in mind: Security that is, of the International Islamic Nation or Ummah, comprising over one thousand, two hundred million people and representing almost one quarter of the world’s entire population.

Today, few if any interviews with members of the Muslim community, pass off without the Rushdie issue being forcefully placed on the agenda and vigorously pursued, in accordance with: The Canon and First Article of Democratic Secular Dogma: ‘Freedom of Speech’. This has certainly been the experience of members of The Islamic Party of Britain, even though it had been calling for a dialogue to take place between the various factions since the party was launched in September 1989. Yet, when it recently called for a suspension of this very same Fatwa, on the grounds that, by his own admission, Rushdie had in fact suffered - the long suspected - Psychotic Schizophrenic breakdown, described so graphically in the book, the silence was, and has remained deafening.

Out of 33 faxed copies of a press-release to this effect, sent out to the world’s media establishment, including Reuters, Associated Press and United Press International, which together with the British papers, TV and Radio, comprise the bulk of the world’s secular opinion makers, none but one brought a reaction. This same media which had for the past six months been rigorously pressing the Islamic World to abandon its position (while basking hypocritically in the protective censorship of its own policies of ‘Shoot to Kill’), revealed by its capricious lack of response to the evidence that could have been submitted in legitimate mitigation of Rushdie’s death sentence a more sinister intention behind the humanitarian drama and high ideals so fervently enunciated by them during their Save Rushdie Campaign.

This will remain the view as long as they maintain their conspiracy of silence, preferring to ignore the clinical evidence which actually supports their vociferous demands for clemency, because it doesn’t suit their secret objectives, even though it offers a genuine solution to their alleged original concern, that of Salman Rushdie’s freedom, if that indeed was the burning issue?

So why, all of a sudden, the loss of interest or Media-Amnesia? Surely all thirty three organisations hadn’t gone down overnight with Legionnaires disease or contracted E.S.E. en masse. (Journalism’s equivalent to B.S.E.? Better known as: Editoria Spongyform Encephalitis Lethargica, or in other words, Moral Torpor. An endemic, recurring contagion, usually contracted by editorial staff following discussions with owners and producers, or during dinners at the Lodge: There being few notable exceptions.) But then again, on reflection, perhaps they had?

Next: Chronology 


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