NationStates Jolt Archive

The cartoon controversy reminded me of another situation in which Muslims were offended by depictions of the prophet. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie, inspired a reception by major clerics that forced it's author to go into hiding. Unlike the cartoons, The Satanic Verses is rather well written, and isn't as far as I can tell intentionally offensive. It's ideas are certainly nonstandard, but if you compare it to comparable Christian works like His Dark Materials it's much less hostile. I personally found it quite good, but then again I'm not Muslim. We've heard the views of the radicals on this topic, but I'm interested to know what the more moderate Muslims of NS General think of the book.

There must be some NS Muslims on right now.

Keruvalia? You around?

I think this is an issue that hasn't been discussed yet around here, and it's certainly an interesting one.

Anyways...BUMP!

One last BUMP...and I'll let the thread die in squalid anonymity.

but if you compare it to comparable Christian works like His Dark Materials it's much less hostile. .

Wasn't His Dark Materials an atheistic series? Am I crazy?

I can't say I know anything about The Satanic Verses. Sounds like it would make a great nation-name, though.

Wasn't His Dark Materials an atheistic series? Am I crazy?

I can't say I know anything about The Satanic Verses. Sounds like a great nation-name, though.

His Dark Materials was atheistic, but specifically it was anti-Christian. The Satanic Verses has been accused of being anti-Muslim, though while it's an alternate viewpoint I don't find it nearly as hostile as His Dark Materials.

Thanks for reminding me. I went to check it out from my school's library once, and all six copies were out. I will have to get Amazon to ship one to me.

Thanks for reminding me. I went to check it out from my school's library once, and all six copies were out. I will have to get Amazon to ship one to me.

It's worth it. Salman Rushdie is a very good author.

Well, I think it comes down to the fact that millions of people can look at some dumb cartoons and get offended in two minutes, but getting offended by an intelligent and rather long book is a bit more of a time investment, even if it is more worthy of indignation and rage. As for comparing The Satanic Verses with anti-christian and other anti-religious books, that's fine, but extend your comparison to the respective reactions to them in the religious communities they go against.

Rushdie did have a Fatwa declared against him, like the cartoon authors, and had to live in hiding for many years. However, worlwide protests weren't set off - who can be arsed to get worked up over something that isn't easily summarized in a sentance and bundled off to the mass media?

I think the reason there are more protests about the cartoons is simply because anti-western tensions are higher right now. It really has nothing to do with the content of either piece. There were certainly simple anti-Satanic Verses slogans out there, with mentions of the book's transformation of something that was apparently a nunnery into a whorehouse on the top of the list. Tensions just weren't as high then.

I actually read it specifically looking for offensive material. Here are my (probably poor conclusions)
- It personalizes muhammed in a fairly scarelgious seeming way
- It implies that muhammed was not divinly inspired (because of how 'convinient' the prophetic revelations are)
- It makes the people central in the muslim faith look a)crazy b)flawed
- it makes God look like God does ridiculous things

Aww jesus christ, not that mohammad cartoon thread shit again. :headbang:

I actually read it specifically looking for offensive material. Here are my (probably poor conclusions)
- It personalizes muhammed in a fairly scarelgious seeming way
- It implies that muhammed was not divinly inspired (because of how 'convinient' the prophetic revelations are)
- It makes the people central in the muslim faith look a)crazy b)flawed
- it makes God look like God does ridiculous things

So do you find it offensive on these counts?

The way I see it, it humanizes things. It also definitely casts doubt on prophetic revelation, as through most of the book people get pretty much what they want out of Gibreel. It's not really enough to cause huge offense, and it's much milder than His Dark Materials.

Aww jesus christ, not that mohammad cartoon thread shit again. :headbang:

No, The Satanic Verses. Different issue, though slightly related.

So do you find it offensive on these counts?

The way I see it, it humanizes things. It also definitely casts doubt on prophetic revelation...
You answered your own question.

No religion likes to be told that it's not really divinely inspired, but just some sort of cult - especially the three Abrahamaic ones. So it's understandable that pious Muslims are offended by the idea that their religion is basically a fraud.

The Satanic Verses is rather well written,

:eek: You must be something. I could'nt get halfway through it. I liked his Midnight Children though. I could understand his writing in that book. I just could not get through SV.

But I can tell you the background of the fatwa and the furore.

The first country to ban the book was India. A young Rajiv Gandhi had just come to power and some muslim leaders in his party said that the book is offensive and if he bans it, it will then get him favors from the muslim vote bank. So he bans it.

Pakistan, being a muslim country and a rival, had to follow suit. I think they were the second country to ban it.

Khomeini, being the supreme leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, had to one up these silly Indo-pak upstarts and prove he was more islamic than anyone. So he issued a fatwa.

I doubt if any of them ever read the damned book.

i really liked the "his dark materials" series, but i'm not gonna slog through "the satanic verses" unless there are armoured polar bears in it... unless you can promise me some sort of islamic analog for the panserbjorne i aint reading it.

His Dark Materials was atheistic, but specifically it was anti-Christian. The Satanic Verses has been accused of being anti-Muslim, though while it's an alternate viewpoint I don't find it nearly as hostile as His Dark Materials.
His Dark Materials is not atheistic. It makes no comment on wether there is a God or not (OK, it says the God that the Christian church worships isnt true, but it makes no comment on whether there is a God or not). Rather, it is an attack on all organised religion, it just uses the Christian religion to show this.

I've been discussing this book for the last two and a half years. :D