Why a 1988 novel about migration became one of history's most dangerous literary controversies
In short: Salman Rushdie’s magic realist epic, The Satanic Verses, was intended as a meditation on identity, metamorphosis, and the immigrant experience. Instead, its dream-like subplots regarding the founding of Islam triggered a global firestorm, resulting in a fatwa, decades of state-mandated seclusion for the author, and violent attacks on his associates.
Published in 1988, The Satanic Verses is a complex narrative centered on two Indian Muslim actors, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha, who survive a plane hijacking over the English Channel. As they fall, Farishta is transformed into the archangel Gabriel, while Chamcha takes on the form of a devil. The novel uses these characters to explore the fractured lives of expatriates in London, yet its broader themes of migration and divided selves were quickly eclipsed by the controversy surrounding its dream sequences.
The primary source of the outrage was a subplot reimagining the life of a prophet named Mahound in the polytheistic city of Jahilia. In this narrative, Mahound initially receives a revelation allowing the worship of three goddesses, only to later recant, realizing the message was inspired by the devil. This fictionalized account of the 'satanic verses' legend was viewed by many Muslims as blasphemous. In 1989, Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of Rushdie, his editors, and his publishers, forcing the author into hiding for nearly a decade.
The fallout was severe and international. Bookstores in Britain were bombed, copies were burned, and the book was banned in several countries. Violence extended to those associated with the work: Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi was murdered in 1991, while an Italian translator and a Norwegian publisher survived assassination attempts. Rushdie himself faced ongoing threats, culminating in a 2022 stabbing in New York that left him seriously injured. Despite the violence, the novel remains a significant work of literature, winning the 1988 Whitbread Book Award and earning a Booker Prize short-listing.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Satanic Verses | Synopsis, Fatwa, Controversy, & Facts | Britannica
- Also: The Satanic Verses
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