Death Threats Against Rushdie Thwart Festival Appearance

The World
It has been more than 20 years since Salman Rushdie published "The Satanic Verses." Many Muslims called the novel blasphemous. Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death. That sent Rushdie into hiding for years. Now, there is a new conflict over Rushdie in India, where he was burn. The British author was scheduled to speak this weekend at India's largest literary festival organized in the northwestern city of Jaipur. But Rushdie canceled after police warned him of a threat against his life. The organizers tried to have Rushdie appear by video-link, but the owner of the hotel where the festival was held canceled the video link Tuesday, just minutes before Rushdie was scheduled to appear.
Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.