Well, for some reason, my Friday post was apparently invisible to some people. While I was able to get to it just fine from my computer here at home, mom was unable to find it on HER computer. And this morning I got an email from my faithful blog-reader Greg, who wondered if the recent Yankee winning streak and Jack Bauer’s noticeable absence from Monday night TV have resulted in a decided lack of posts. And while I’ll admit I’ve been less-than-inspired lately, I DID manage to post twice last week. Dad was able to see Friday’s post on his computer, too – so he left a comment, which seems to have brought the wayward post back from the mysterious cyberspace realm in which it was hiding.
Anyway… so I find it interesting that I happen to be reading The Satanic Verses just as another Rushdie controversy once again begins to stir. Queen Elizabeth II recently bestowed knighthood upon Rushdie, to honor him for his literary achievements. This does not consist solely of The Satanic Verses, of course – he’s written thirteen books, many of which have won awards. And while I’ve never read any of his other works, judging from what I’ve read so far, this man is an AMAZING writer. The guy can write. It’s not at all difficult for me to believe that he deserves some positive recognition for his achievements.
And yet, because of the knighthood, we once again have a handful of extremists yelling “kill him!” calling him a “blasphemer” and saying this title “hurt the sentiments of Muslims around the world.” Actually, I’d be willing to bet that most Muslims really couldn’t care less, but I could be wrong…
And not only this, but the religious affairs minister in Pakistan has said, “if someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologizes and withdraws the ‘sir’ title.” Uhh… Are. You. Kidding. Me. Have any of these people calling for Rushdie’s death even READ the book? Do they know what it’s about? Do they realize that the “blasphemous” part consists of a little 26-page section (in the middle of a 561 page book) that could probably be interpreted all kinds of different ways because it’s so strange and metaphorical? So because of 26 pages out of thirteen different books (and let’s see… if they’re all about the same length, that would be over 7000 pages total…) – seven THOUSAND pages of literature, and Rushdie should die because he may have suggested, in one tiny little part of one of his many books, some less-than-devout idea about Islam? How WEAK must you be in your own faith to even entertain such an idea? Those who are secure in their faith have no reason to bother with such minutiae. Those who are secure in their faith harbor no revenge in their hearts – revenge is obviously not a GOOD sentiment to hold on to. To hold so tightly to such negativity and such pessimism and such defeatism (how can anyone honestly believe that such a book can topple the entire foundation of a religion?) says volumes about what is TRULY in someone’s heart.
That’s not to say that I can’t understand why some people might find parts of the book a bit insulting – I’m sure there are parts that could be insulting to all kinds of people, not just Muslims. I mean, for goodness’ sake – I could probably pull any random title off my bookshelf and find something that someone might find insulting. I know plenty of people who were insulted by Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, and yet they managed to get over it. Some of them even conceded that it WAS a great work of fiction, even if they found the subject matter a bit offensive. Sure, it can be offensive to devout Christians – yet those who are secure in their faith are able to simply shrug it off and understand that God is MUCH more powerful than any work of fiction could ever be.
This is why I can’t help but think that the true Muslims – the ones who honestly understand their faith – are NOT the ones out in the streets calling for Rushdie’s death. I’ve read that the word “Islam” can be translated to mean both “peace” and “submission.” Yet the peaceful and submissive aspects of Islam are far too often overshadowed by these stories of revenge and hatred. And it’s sad, because like I said, I’m betting most Muslims couldn’t care less whether Rushdie is knighted or not. Because most Muslims can probably understand that The Satanic Verses is simply a work of fiction, and certainly not powerful enough to alter their faith. Just like The Da Vinci Code is a fun read, but it’s not going to make a true Christian abandon everything they believe and rush off to the Louvre in search of the bones of Mary.
This whole situation may, of course, call for another cabin story. But I’d better finish the book first…
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