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?
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