– I don’t trust the Iranian regime at all, says Gharahkhani when news meets him in Drammen. Gharahkhani, who is originally from Iran, says he finds it sad how the country is run. – That there are extreme religious leaders at the top, who decide what is right and wrong in society, is just sad, he says. Salman Rushdie has lived with a fatwa against him for many years. Photo: Hallgrim Haug / news Focal point – Reprehensible The President of the Storting does not believe the Iranian regime when they claim that they are not responsible for the assassination of Salman Rushdie eight days ago in the USA when the author was attacked and stabbed. – We know that the fatwa comes from the ayatollahs, and I have noted that the assassination attempt has been praised in the Iranian media, which is controlled by the regime. It is reprehensible, says Gharahkhani. The fatwa the parliament president is referring to was issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 when Rushdie published the book “Satanic Verses”. Khomeini then declared that Rushdie should be killed. The same was true of those who had helped publish the book, which Iranian leaders accused of being blasphemous. Denies involvement On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied that the country was involved in the attack on Rushdie, and claimed that the author himself is to blame for what happened. – By insulting the sanctuary of Islam and thereby crossing the red line of over one and a half billion Muslims and all followers of the divine religions, Salman Rushdie has exposed himself to the people’s anger and rage, said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Salman Rushdie Salman Rushdie is a British writer of Indian origin who lives in New York. Rushdie is best known for the controversy surrounding his novel The Satanic Verses from 1988, which many Muslims perceived as blasphemous and offensive. The book is banned in India and in several Muslim countries. The turmoil surrounding the book escalated when Iran’s then-leader Ayatollah Khomeini sentenced Rushdie and all publishers of the book to death. In 1991, the book’s Japanese translator, Hitoshi Igarashi, and Italian translator, Ettore Capriolo, were assassinated. In 1993 there was also an assassination attempt against Rushdie’s Norwegian publisher William Nygaard. Igarashi was killed, while Capriolo and Nygaard survived. Rushdie has lived with police protection for a number of years, and for a long time went under the pseudonym Joseph Anton. In 1998, the Iranian government declared that it no longer sought the execution of the death sentence. Rushdie has published a number of novels after “The Satanic Verses”. However, his book “The Moor’s Last Sigh” from 1995 was also banned in India due to harassment of a prominent Hindu fundamentalist politician. (Source: Store norske lexikon) Missing grandma Must Muslims put up with Rushdie’s message? – Yes, because it is about freedom of expression. These are the values that make us lucky and live in a country that scores highly on freedom of expression and the press, says Gharahkhani. He came to Norway from Iran with his family as refugees in 1987. Now he cannot travel there, but he hopes that the country will get rid of the regime that is in power. – I have a grandmother who lives there, and I still dream of the opportunity to see her and give her a hug, says Gharahkhani. Surprised that Rushdie survived 24-year-old Hadi Matar, who is charged with the knife attack against Rushdie, says he is surprised that the writer survived. He was arrested immediately after the attack, and in a prison meeting the following day, the 24-year-old pleaded not guilty to attempted murder of the British author. In an interview with the New York Post from prison, he said he decided to go to the event with Rushdie last winter. – When I heard that he survived, I was probably surprised, Matar told the newspaper. Rushdie suffered injuries to his liver, arm and an eye, according to the agent. The 24-year-old would not say whether he was inspired by the fatwa of Iran’s then leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.
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The President of the Storting believes Muslims must endure the message in Rushdie’s book – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
