From Fatwa to Jihad [Paperback]

Kenan Malik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2010

Twenty years ago, the image of burning copies of Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" held aloft by thousand-strong mobs of protestors became an internationally familiar symbol of anger and offence. Kenan Malik examines how the Rushdie affair transformed the debate worldwide on multiculturalism, tolerance and free speech, helped fuel the rise of radical Islam and pointed the way to the horrors of 9/11 and 7/7.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Malik was a freelance journalist working in northern England when the fatwa was declared against Salman Rushdie for his novel, The Satanic Verses. The book was publically burned in England and several of its translators were beaten or murdered. Thirty-seven people were killed when anti-Rushdie protesters set fire to a hotel containing the novel's Turkish translator, and Rushdie's Norwegian publisher was shot. This fatwa, Malik persuasively argues, starkly changed the terms of cultural conflict: "With his four-paragraph pronouncement, the ayatollah had transcended the traditional frontiers of Islam and brought the whole world under his jurisdiction." The multicultural policies implemented to smooth the racial tensions of '60s-era England instead, Malik believes, "helped foster a more tribal nation" and opened a pathway for religious extremism. The "collision of Western moral evasion and Islamist political intransigence became a characteristic not just of the Rushdie affair but of the whole road from fatwa to jihad." Though Malik could be accused of repeating himself or overstating his case, his fine analysis of the cultural forces that have fueled extremist Islam has much to offer.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"'A gripping account of how we went from burning books to bombs on buses. The Rushdie Affair has shaped all our lives. This book shows us how.' Hanif Kureishi * 'A thorough and highly readable history of the politics of the Rushdie affair and an important intervention in the current debate on freedom of expression.' Monica Ali 'A riveting political history of contemporary Britain... Impeccably researched, brimming with detail, yet razor-sharp in its argument.' Lisa Appignanesi, Independent"

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Books (January 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843548259
• ISBN-13: 978-1843548256
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,027,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.