The Satanic Verses
*The Satanic Verses* is a 1988 novel by Salman Rushdie that sparked global controversy for passages some Muslims considered blasphemous toward the Prophet Muhammad.
Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death, forcing the author into hiding for years.
The title refers to verses allegedly once part of the Quran but later removed as satanic interpolations.
The novel itself blends magical realism with themes of migration, identity, and religious doubt.
Irreverence toward the sacred
- bannedOfficially disallowed
- book burningIncinerating texts as censorship
- protestsPublic expressions of opposition
- outrageFierce moral indignation
offensive · polarizing · debate · backlash · condemnation · Bradford · provocation · demonstrations
Controversial novelist, knighted
- authorCreator of written works
- novelistWriter of prose narratives
- Booker PrizeBritish literary fiction award
- magic realismGenre mixing fantasy and ordinary
postcolonial · free speech · knighthood · memoir · storyteller
- death sentenceJudicial order of execution
- 1989Final Cold War year
- IranIslamic republic in Asia
- bountyReward for capture
assassination attempt · hiding · protection · diplomatic crisis · apostasy · heresy · blasphemy · Shia
Imagined narrative work
- narrativeAccount of events
- magic realismGenre mixing fantasy and ordinary
- metamorphosisProfound biological restructuring
- dreamsInvoluntary sleep visions
identity · migration · London · Bombay · allegory · satire · chapters · postmodern
Unrestrained communication of ideas
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- PENWriters' advocacy acronym
- solidarityUnity among allies
- defenseProtection against harm
human rights · secularism · defiance · courage · resistance · intellectual freedom · banned books · speech rights
blasphemy
Irreverence toward the sacred
- bannedOfficially disallowed
- book burningIncinerating texts as censorship
- protestsPublic expressions of opposition
outrage · offensive · polarizing · debate · backlash · condemnation · Bradford · provocation · demonstrations · censorship
Salman Rushdie
Controversial novelist, knighted
- authorCreator of written works
- novelistWriter of prose narratives
- Booker PrizeBritish literary fiction award
magic realism · postcolonial · free speech · knighthood · memoir · storyteller
Ayatollah Khomeini
- death sentenceJudicial order of execution
- 1989Final Cold War year
- IranIslamic republic in Asia
bounty · assassination attempt · hiding · protection · diplomatic crisis · apostasy · heresy · blasphemy · Shia · clerical
fiction
Imagined narrative work
- narrativeAccount of events
- magic realismGenre mixing fantasy and ordinary
- metamorphosisProfound biological restructuring
dreams · identity · migration · London · Bombay · allegory · satire · chapters · postmodern · diaspora
free expression
Unrestrained communication of ideas
- censorshipOfficial content restriction
- PENWriters' advocacy acronym
- solidarityUnity among allies
defense · human rights · secularism · defiance · courage · resistance · intellectual freedom · banned books · speech rights
Satan, satanic, satanically, satanism, verse, verses, versed, versing, versify