Freedom of Speech
Reader comment on item: Rushdie Fails to Move the Zealots
in response to reader comment: Resisting Islam

Submitted by Linda Haslam (United States), Apr 23, 2008 at 19:39

Freedom of Speech may not include the right to "libel or slander", but it does include the right to offend and the right to express our opinions no matter how ridiculous or offensive they may be. As you probably know, democracy cannot survive without freedom of speech. As a writer of fiction, Rushdie had every right to tell his story and title it however he chose. In my opinion, the most telling aspect of his entire allegory was Islam's response to it. If the Devil made him praise the three goddesses, how many other verses in the Koran came from the Devil??

You should also know that many people ( including me) would never have made the extra effort to get and read The Satanic Verses had it not been for the death fatwa; and to tell the truth, I did not realize the full significance of the allegory until I read Why I Am Not a Muslim by Ibn Warriq.

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