SATANIC AFFAIR RUSHDIE

This is a good analysis of what prompted Islam to declare a fatwa against Rushdie. The author makes the point that rather than this being a worldwide thing, the protests and book burnings mainly happened in the UK where some parts of the Islamic communities were finding it difficult to integrate into Western culture and saw Rushdie as a traitor. This was by no means completly widespread, I loved that he drew attention to the Islamic feminist women's group in London who protested in support of Rushdie who was making a point against some of the misogynist elements of Islam in The Satanic Verses. I was also fascinated by the MP Keith Vaz's stance of publicly condemning the book (although reading in Rushdie's memoir Joseph Anton, behind the scenes Vaz initially offered him support). Despite the age distance, this is still a very relevant book in the author's coverage of the history of Islam in the UK and the analysis of the differing opinions towards Western culture and how immigrants integrate.