News Source:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6760927.stm

First of all, let me be undiplomatic: this is bollocks.

Besides the simple fact that the honours list is voted for by the public or expert organisations, and the fact that the guy is a gifted author, the claims made by the Iranians are just absurd.

Mohammad Ali-Hosseini, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman made the following claims:

“The measure that has taken place for paying tribute to this apostate and detested figure will definitely put British statesmen and officials at odds with Islamic societies, the emotions and sentiments of which have again been provoked.”

First of all, without sounding dismissive – what’s new? As far as I’ve seen, the select few Islamic communities that want to be at odds or cause problems with British statesmen and officials (and more besides) are already doing so. Secondly, what emotions and sentiments have actually been provoked? Many largely-Muslim countries banned the book when it was released, so how can emotions and sentiments be provoked, unless, of course, a select few people are telling the masses what they should be offended by…?

But that’s by the by. Because let’s just say that all these people who are told to be offended by it really did read it and really were offended (because they perceived a blasphemous depiction of the prophet in the novel…), let’s just say they were… is their faith really that weak that one fictional novel by a non-Muslim can really cause that much offence? Or put another way, is it so weak that you’re prepared to see some sort of twisted ‘logic’ in condemning this same non-believer to death, just to defend your peace-loving faith and appease your god… erm, check please.

“Giving a medal to someone who is among the most detested figures in the Islamic community is… a blatant example of the anti-Islamism of senior British officials,”

Erm, no it’s not. It’s a blatant example of giving credit where it’s due, regardless of race, creed, or religion – none of which are real dividing lines anyway.

Bravo Rushdie.