‘The issue is whether people should be killed, or face a serious threat of being killed, for what they say or write.’… Read the rest

Not the merit of his books, not his failure to be ‘grateful,’ not blasphemy, not apostasy; nothing.… Read the rest

‘First Dennett, then Dawkins and now Hitchens’ Harries tuts. And there are how many theist books?… Read the rest

Furious reaction to government plans to revise textbook accounts of army activities during WW II. … Read the rest

Inayat Bunglawala comments: ‘We’re not taking them seriously.’ Back atcha, dude.… Read the rest

Repuation in the media, ingratitude, entitled to decline the honour, surprised he didn’t, eh, what?… Read the rest

While the rest of us were still worrying about the Cold War, Rushdie was warning us about the war yet to come.… Read the rest

All scare-quotes and sneers.… Read the rest

Left and right, people have reacted by blaming Rushdie for being the victim of wannabe-murderers. … Read the rest

Life of Brian ‘offended’ people too; so what.… Read the rest

Spoke hours after John Reid said Britain would not apologise to whiners from across ‘the Muslim world.’ … Read the rest

Emaciated children lying on the floor, some tied to cribs; food and clothing in storeroom.… Read the rest

‘Bad on Whitehall for not spotting the trouble it might do to British-Muslim relations at this delicate time.’… Read the rest

‘The last thing we should do is accept the terms in which religious obscurantists seek to frame this issue.’… Read the rest

The notion that free speech was an ethnocentric imposition on other cultures has developed mightily.… Read the rest

Sinister mixture of sneering and crawling, both aimed at the wrong targets.… Read the rest

‘If we were not treated with respect then we were capable of forcing others to respect us’ – thanks to fatwa.… Read the rest

Hari Kunzru: ‘The real insult is to the intelligence and decency of “the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims”.’… Read the rest

BBC says Rushdie’s book ‘sparked’ protests.… Read the rest

‘The Satanic Verses provoked the ire of many Muslims and led to the issuing of a fatwa.’… Read the rest