What 5th . Ah, i am oh oh oh, i had with me for more than 10 years. Salman rushdie was a hunted man living and hiding with a false identity and under Police Protection. The font was calling for his execution was issued in 1989 following the publication of his book, the satanic verses which was considered blasphemous. With the threat of death over him, rusty changed his address 56 times during those 10 years and was the target of some 20 assassination attempts. Ah, but thats all behind him now. Rushed, he has left england and settled in new york where he has lived for almost 20 years. Ah ah ah, i was born in what was then called monday in and get in june 947. Thats to say exactly 8 weeks to the day before the end of the british empire. My father used to tell this joke, which i think he told slightly too many times about how i was born in a tweets later the british ran away. August 15th 1946 on the item that my childhood is being very happy i came from a non Observant Muslim family. You know, that religions really werent a big issue and it was nationality. So in the little neighborhood where we lived there were, i would, my childhood friends were of every possible religion, you know, they were hindu muslim sake, christian and all of that seem completely normal. And that sense of it, of everybody elses culture being available to us. It was one of the great things about growing up them. Like many children, i was told bedtime stories by my parents. My father would tell us, i mean the east, the indian equivalent fairytales, the radio night stories. Actually, when you read the 1001 nights you realize that its not at all the childrens book, its full of sex. But of course, my father gave me his bush, his adaptations which interested me to read when i grew up to read the real thing. And that was influential to i never had any idea of what to do with my life except me, the writer. So when, even when i was a child, my parents afterwards told me that when their friends asked them asked me, what do you want to do when you grow up . I would not say that i want to be a you know, Airline Pilots or an astronaut. I would say i want to be around it. This is when i was like, i dont know, 910 years old. So it was always the plan. I never really had a plan b. Ah, i did start rising little things. My memory of the 1st story i ever wrote is that i went to see the movie, the wizard of oz. And i came home and wrote a story called over the rainbow. Is a story about a boy like myself in a city like monday. And he meets magical creatures anyway, because i mean, it was long, it was a few pages long. And my father said that he would have his secretary type it up. So he that he did. And then he said, you know, if i give this to you, youre going to lose it. So i will look after it. So he took it away and then he lost it. My parents, they still thought that an english education in europe in england was the best thing they could offer me. But nobody forced me. You know enough to say, my father said to me, would i be interested to go . But if i said no, then i didnt have to go. So they left the decision to me. My mother was completely against the idea. She didnt want me to go. But she also left the decision to me. And. And the strange thing is that i was very happy as i said growing up in bombay. You know, i, i liked the world of my childhood. I liked my school, you know, i had plenty of friends. And its very hard to understand about that. Young boy who is what . 1212 and a half years old when this question was asked. And why did he say yes, he wanted to go, you know, and it seems mysterious to me that i made that decision. And it suggests that there was, i dont know, some spirit of adventure, some desire to go away and see other things, you know. And maybe it was in part inspired by reading. But if i could, id read all these english childrens books, you know . So i had a picture of england in my mind, which of course was completely inaccurate. England is not like a childrens book. When i arrived i, well, 1st of all, it was very cold. Arrived in winter, january, and i was boy from the tropics. So, so just the physical factor of how cold it was was difficult. And then i discovered more disappointing things wedding than which was to put it in a simple word, racism. You know, it was the 1st time in my life that i had had the feeling been given the feeling of being the other of being the person who is not like the people who are there and, and disliked for that reason. Boys find all sorts of ways of being nasty to other boys. Thats true. But the way they found being nasty to me was to attack me for my racial origins. And that was it was very shocking. It was very shocking. I didnt speak english with an english accent, and yes, i mean my skin color is relatively light. And so it means that over the years, i, in many ways suffered less racial prejudice than, than other people with my background. You know, but it was all around, you know, i mean the, that period of, after i grew up, i graduated in 1968 and, you know, the, the seventys and eightys in england were a time of considerable racial tension. Well i had a very bad style as a writer, you know, when i Left University, because i decided to settle in england and not go back east. I think that i was very confused about my identity as a writer. What kind of writer i was who exactly i was as a writer and, and so a lot of the things that i wrote to begin with were were flawed because of that. They were, they were they werent very good. As working as a advertising copywriter to pay the rent. And when i was writing these various other projects, probably 3 book length manuscripts that, that i wrote in that in that time that, that whenever published. And i mean actually now im very grateful. Even published was really very good. So there was a lot of work and failures. I published one novel that essentially nobody liked various other abandoned projects. So i really felt that i was i hadnt found my ways. And i think the question in the end was that i had to do much more interest section i to really understand who i was and where the writing was coming from. And and out of that came a desire to reclaim what i feared might be lost territory. Which was, which was the world id come from to the world of bombay, in india. And. And so i went back there with might my small savings. And i just decided im going to stay here as long as i can. Im going to travel as widely as i can, and im going to just try and you know, drink this in again. And i was there for an almost not quite, not quite 6 months and 5 and a half months, Something Like that. And by the time i came back, i had a much clearer idea of what i wanted to do. And out of that came in my children. What the book is about is about my generation, which is the generation of, of freedom, the generation of independence. You know, the, the 1st generation to be born in india, not on the colonial rule for over 200 years. The british left on on august the midnight of august 14th 15th and yes, thats what i wanted to write about. And so by the time i came round to writing midnights children, i, i really thought this is a kind of last chance, you know, if, if, if i can, if i cant make this work, then maybe i should stop. But fortunately, thats not what happened. It did change my life, the success of midnights children. It was completely unexpected. I Left University in 1968 and by the time midnights children was published, that was 1981. The idea that it would become this got a global phenomenon, but selling multiple millions of copies and translated into, you know, 50 languages. So, and i would never have crossed my mind that that would happen. And rusty the vienna winner, a brilliant book, which is of them obviously funny novel so it was a complete shock. And yes, then what it did was allowed me to live by my writing. And then i was what i was 34 years old at the time i rushed, he spent 5 years writing the satanic verses at the time. No one could foresee the rise of islamic fundamentalism. But the backlash that followed the books release was the harbinger of what was to become the dominant issue of the 21st century. The spread of fanatical is long before the satanic verses was published, rushdie asked a few friends to read the proofs. His publisher said that rusty had no idea the storm of the satanic verses was about to unleash the things i did show it to them. The booked a number of people who knew who knew the world i was writing about. And it was quite obvious that people of conservative religious views would not like the book, but there they havent like anything else. I wrote either. So thats not particularly different. I felt that in many ways it was my most formally ambitious book. You know, it was a book where i was pushing things father that i pushed them before and i and i, id like that about it. Now. The book tells of 2 passengers on a flight to london, approved and sell a dean, fall victim to a terrorist attack. As their plane explodes and they fall from the sky, the 2 protagonists are transformed into archangels of good and evil. The book denounces the oppression of women, intolerance and violence and questions. The core tenants of the islamic faith in one scene, prostitutes working in a brothel. Take the names of the wives of the prophet in order to boost their earnings. And in a thinly veiled reference to either toler khomeini, the novel also depicts an exiled mom who during revolution returns to his home country and tyrannized as the people i knew about the rise of islamic fundamentalism. In fact, theres a character in this atomic versus who is who is a, you know, who is of that kind. Who is a fundamentalist preacher. I think anyone who comes from the east, who had paid attention to what was happening in the world, we knew about that and, and the only written now a lot of people who read the book say that it seems to have foreseen what was going to happen but it wasnt foreseeing, it was just Pay Attention to what was actually happening, which about time people in the west, were not paying attention. And i use this metaphor of Alfred Hitchcocks film, the birds because theres, theres the scene in the birds where there are children singing in a classroom and outside the classroom. Theres the playground, but theres a, theres a planning, frame jungle gym and, and film cuts back. And forth between the 2 and the 1st time it looks outside the window. You see one blackwood come to sit on the frame and then you go back in the children singing and then you go back out and theres like 500. And, and the point is that when theres just one bird sitting there, doesnt mean anything. Its just a bird sitting on a fleming frame. Its only retrospectively when there are 500 birds that you begin to think. Oh yeah, there was that 1st mud. And i think what happened the case of what happened to the satanic, this is its it for Something Like the 1st work mode in september 1988. The publication of the satanic verses caused an instant uproar in the muslim community. It criticized what they saw as rushed, irreverent portrayal of the prophet. The book triggered a wave of protests across the arab world. I mean attacks like this against books had taken place before. You know, against other writers in the muslim world. The g. My food, for example, and nobel laureate, well, i think what happened in the west is that people were completely taken by surprise. There was some argument about the book, you know, there was some in england at particular there was some muslim priests who spoke up against it and thats more or less what would happen had not been intervention for me. Book came out in september 1988, and the fact that was 6 months later, very much on february 14th, 989 into iran. The spiritual leader of the mama revolution, ayatollah hominy issued a religious decree, or fatwas, ordering all muslims to kill the British Indian rider, Salman Rushdie, and his publishers for the books blasphemous attacks on islam the prophet and the koran. A bounty of 25000. 00 was offered to any runny and who carried out the sentence and 7500. 00 to any muslim of another nationality. He said, in the name of god almighty, i call on all zealous muslims to execute them quickly wherever they may find them, so that no one else will dare insult islamic sanctity. I was at home in london and telephone rang and it was a woman from the b, b. C. From the news radio news program. Who i think what she said is how does it feel to know that youve been sentenced to death by the local baby . First, i heard of it and i said something stupid like it doesnt feel very good. And put the phone down. And then i did something even more stupid would just run around the house, looking the doors and windows as if that would be fine. My 1st thought was, i think im, i think im a dead man. I think i begun to think that in the my days might be numbered in less than double figures the at the time, nobody understood exactly what it might mean. I had to go with a Television Interview for Cbs Television in america and. And i was asking the journalists at cbs office in london. What do you think this means . You know . And, and one of them said, oh, dont worry about it. You know . So many, he said this is the president of the United States to death every friday. So, so nobody knew whether to take it seriously or not. But i did that, i think within 24 hours, the british had also decided that they had to take the seriously and, and thats when the protection was offered and i accepted his literary agent. Andrew wiley remembers rustys call. While he said i had to ask him what a fun one was. Id never heard the word before. He said he was going into hiding right away. The over the next few weeks demonstrations against rusty escalated across britain was mom communitys help book burnings thousands of protesters who considered the book evil and insulting to is one demanded that it be banned. The day in london activists burned effigies of the altar while chanting all is great and death to rusty. A professor of islamic studies spoke out against rusty in an open letter to the International Herald tribune. Your western readers are unable to gauge the acuteness of the blow. You have delta us, he wrote. What do you think the response of black americans would be if you were to mock Martin Luther king junior, or the reaction of the Jewish Community . If you eulogies, hitler, ah, did you build . You saw the director of the Islamic Center and his librarian were murdered to night on the premises of the mosque of brussels. Meet the abdulla, ill a doll and had apparently taken a moderate stance in the russia. Farrell, they moved the lay sombre. Thiel la la fare was the, if you like, dont yourself is the director of the Islamic Center. Abdulla ala gall was found dead with gunshot wounds to the head and the neck. So little salam albert was killed in a similar fashion. He was head of the Islamic Center libraries. He said, the tv is full of blood last. Im not at the hotel available. I am in the sunday mobile place. There is weaponry everywhere. The moment when things really changed me was when i saw Television Coverage of the burning of the story. I thought of it them, i think of it as one of the most obscene images that ive ever witnessed. When for me into being that the, that the narrative changed, the because i say what i thought of him had up to that point. I mean, an argument turned into something much more dangerous. Brittany, whose biggest bookseller withdrew the satanic verses from its 430 stores. On the same day, the writer stephen king called the head of the chain and gave him an ultimatum. If you dont sell the satanic verses you dont sell, stephen king. The book was back on the shelves the next day. Ah, there was some political problems which is that the touch of government in england was aware of the fact that id be in a strong critic of the federal government. And so they werent particularly in love with me, but on the other hand, they offered the Police Protection and maintained it. Today, a protest took place in paris with banners reading, kill, rusty, and it gets more, le mo, food. Im a death to rusty and akbar or got his grade were chanted between about them plus the latter to leave metro station that by about a 1000 demonstrators. Your immediate manifesto for them and rush. The book was a stab in the back. But not all politicians and intellectuals supported rusty john lacquer a wrote in the guardian that nobody has a god given right to insult a great religion and be published with impunity. The beloved childrens author ra, a doll leveled the harshest attack. This kind of sensationalism does indeed get an indifferent book on the top of the best seller list. He seems to be regarded as some sort of a hero. To my mind, hes a dangerous opportunist. Even jimmy carter, whose presidency was destroyed by Ayatollah Khomeini, denounced the book, calling it an insult to the sacred beliefs of our muslim friends and the singer cat stevens, who converted to islam in 1977 express disapproval of rustys writings and support for the death sentence another critic, Prince Charles said, im sorry, but if some one insults some one elses deepest convictions, well then you shouldnt pretend to be surprised. A few years later, his mother, Queen Elizabeth the 2nd nighted rushdie for his service to literature. Effigies of the queen and the author were burned at several demonstrations. On june, 3rd, 1989 Ayatollah Khomeini died in tehran, leaving the fatwas in place. His successor, Ayatollah Khomeini declared, it is incumbent on every muslim to employ every thing he has to send Salman Rushdie to hell. Even if it means sacrificing his life. O death sentence against solomon rusty, pronounced a year ago by our tools hominy has been reaffirm by his successor, ayatollah ali hummer. Nay. Irans religious leader referred to the british writer mister rusty as the author of the blasphemous book, the satanic verses. They found that islamic fanatics continue to pursue Salman Rushdie, the author of the satanic verses condemned to death by khomeini. He is in hiding somewhere in england, protected by scotland yard, got on his translators, have also become targets. Weve all seen a 1st attack took place earlier in the week in italy, and a 2nd one has now occurred in japan that what will jeff will it will she are ship latasha you got ashi, an expert on islam and professor at the university of his upa. Was found dead this morning in front of an elevator near his office as we mazama, he had been stabbed several times to the literary agent has already been attacked by pakistani militant in february 1990 at a press Conference Marking the books release of tokyo, fixed any rusty went to new york in december 1991 to give a speech at columbia university. It was his 1st trip outside britain. He had to take a Royal Air Force plane because British Airways refused to let him fly with them. Siding security reasons, the windows of his new York City Hotel room were bullet proofed. That isnt gentlemen. Salman rushdie. In october 1992, the writer launched an International Campaign to have the death sentence against him removed. I decided to make a lot of noise. He said, because noise is my only hope. Rushed, he came to paris in march, 993 for the 1st time since the font wall had been declared. On 3 previous occasions, the french authorities had refused his request to enter the country. Our country is the country of artists writers and freedom. And i wanted Salman Rushdie to be here at the earliest possible opportunity so we could express our friendship, our admiration and our support timing. You know, well assure that was which of the to meet this year. But i do some of it, and i like in france was there was great support across the political spectrum. And i was in front several times in those years and met everyone from jack on to, to, to. But i do. And to, you know, everyone you can think of luck, etc. The only person that would not meet me was, was me to and has refused. And of course, you know how close me javan Jacqueline Werner and jack la repeatedly tried to persuade her that she needed to come aboard. But for whatever reason, he would not. So i never met me to all the worship. Oh, i mean in july 1993 islamic radicals set fire to a hotel and see this turkey where the translator of the satanic verses was among those attending a cultural conference. 37 people died in the blaze. It was the last large scale protest. As the years passed, the Death Threats became fewer gradually rushed, he began to appear in public again. Bookstores ushered him in through the back door. 1994 in january, a group of 100. 00 arab and muslim intellectuals published statements in favor of rusty excerpts of the satanic verses banned in all muslim countries appeared in an egyptian newspaper. On october 14th, the Nobel Prize Winning novelist, naji by force was seriously wounded in a knife attack in cairo. But gradually, things improved in the sense of the analysis of the threat against my life begun to diminish. And eventually there was a agreement between the british and the iranian governments, which essentially entered the threat. Good afternoon, im delighted to say that his excellency doctor carouse. He has clarified therein in governments position on this. And on the bounty on the life of the author of the satanic verses, the government of the some extra coffee on has no intention. Nor is it going to take any action whatsoever to threaten the life of the author of the satanic verses. Or anybody associated with this it his vote nor waited, encourage or assist anybody to those who gradually the security measures put in place to protect rushdie, more relaxed, he was able to live more freely. British airways announced that he was once again welcome on board its flight. But despite it runs decision to drop, the fatwas many hardliners continued to uphold it. I want to have a dialogue with you by a motion gun. You know, since 10 years ago youre watching, youre running to the hey, real real clearly the old a, the m. M on omega the law. The law does not you. I started coming to america. I would come here for, for 2 or 3 months a year and here it seemed possible to live a relatively normal life without any of those. And this is, of course, an innocent america and america before 911 where it felt fine so safe me ah, ive often asked the question whether i regretted drudging the satanic verses, but i mean, i regretted what happened to me as a consequence of it. You know, i would much rather that had not happened. But as far as the book is concerned, you know, im more and more proud of it. I mean, this year it will be 30 years since the 600. 00 versus a published. And, and i also think that whats happening now as the, as the scandal goes away, is that people are able to read it as a book rather than as some kind of scandalous text. One of the effect of the rise of radical islam has been too not so much to frighten writers as to frighten publishers. You know, i think, i think theres a lot of books that would not get themselves published now. Because people are scared to publish them. One of the great surprises of my life has been the, the return of religion to the center of the stage. You know that, i mean, im an old swiss on twitter. And in those days we argued about many things. But we didnt discuss religion. Religion seem to be and irrelevance politically. And since then it has become of the see central been away in a way that none of us suspected. Oh yeah. In the city of western europe and america where there is a lot of prejudice against muslim people. It is obviously wrong that people should be discriminated against their religion. They need to be protected. But its equally wrong to protect the religion from all criticism. Criticism of islam has become acquainted with an attack on muslim people. And. And so even people on the liberal end of the progressive leftist end of the spectrum, now find problematic. The idea of supporting people who make fun of religion or piece of that particular religion. Nobody cares if people make fun of you know, catholics or jews. But, but islam people seem to have a full sense of having to protect it, you know. And that sometimes leads to terrible mistakes, like the failure of a number of american writers to support julia. For example. On january 7th, 2015 gunmen stormed the offices of the french satirical newspaper. Shoddy up to during a weekly editorial meeting. 12 people including 8 journalists and 2 police officers, were murdered in the islamist terrorist attack. The famous cartoonists come to shop on the can you and will, in ski, were among the victims. In february, 2006, they had published a series of caricature as of the prophet, muhammad, the killer said, you will pay for insulting the profit before killing the journalists. I think people are in a kind of state of denial and they dont really understand how difficult is going to be. Thats the sadness of our time. I mean, i remember here in new york, after, after the 911 attacks, a couple of journalist friends of mine, i mean, very senior journalists experienced journalists saying to me, oh, now we understand what happened to you. And i thought i really thought you know what thousands of people have to die before you understand what happened to me. But then i understood that thats not what he was saying exactly what he was saying was, or the 2 of them were saying was that now it also happened to them are the this is, this is the horrible some center legal moder. But he never comes because he knows how much people in new york dislike, but he never comes to horrible. Whats happening in this country right now, and i think what has been happening at the borders has been almost almost was thing just about, you know, so far the, the imprisonment of children. But one of the most awful things about this administration is that it appears to have no bottom, that every time you think, theres no way they can get lower than this, they find a place to go even lower than that. And i mean, its horrifying every day. The novel before it was due to 2 years, 8 months, 28 nights is just kind of fairy tale of new york with genies and so on. And. And so i thought, what can i do that is really radically different from that. And thats what led to the, the method, the matter of the golden house. The book is shaped as having a beginning on the day of integration of barack obama and it ends at the time of the integration of the 45th president who has not referred to by name in the book. Theres a cartoon character replaces drunk to the novel, which is, which is the joker, the villain from the batman. And i thought, well, i dont want to have the word trump in the book, so ill have to joker instead. And then it seemed to me not inappropriate that the comic book villain should become president of the United States. And i just thought, im writing a book, roughly speaking about the obama years about, about what was happening in america. In those, in that just under a decade, from the moment of great optimism to a moment of Something Like the opposite of me. In this novel, renee, a Young Filmmaker in search of a story, spent his days spying on his new neighbor, nero golden, an enigma medic. Millionaire from india who settles in the heart of Greenwich Village, new york, with his 3 sons. These strange, fascinating neighbours with their mysterious ways, become an unexpected source of inspiration. I thought that he would be watching what happens until he us one of the films that was really just seemed like an obvious reference in this novel was Alfred Hitchcocks rear window because a lot of the novel is set is in this kind of secret garden in the middle of Greenwich Village and it suddenly struck me that this would be a wonderful space for the action of the novel. That it had something theatrical about it sold us like a stage on which the actual characters, the novel can act out. Their stories on the stage and they can be watched by everybody. The bigger of the gotten. But renees head is full of movies, so hes always thinking about movies. The thing he does share with me is a passion for the cinema. This obsession with this with, with movies that ive had all my life because it becomes his obsession. Just goes away with a lot more of the engine movies. When i was at college, the only other dream that i had was to be an actor. And and then i think probably wisely, i didnt, i didnt pursue that, that particular career. But for me its always been like a little bit of an unscratched edge. So sometimes if people have offered me small cameo roles and movies, ive been excited to to do it just its just fun. And the actress helen hunt was directing her 1st film. And it, there was the character of an indian doctor, indian gynecologist. And i just out of the blue, they called me and said what i like to do it. So i had to play helen hands. Guy ecologist. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hi. Hello. Hello. Sorry. So anyone else coming . No, this is it is, is it a, could you lose just looks good. I had to learn a great deal about how to work ultrasound machines and things like that. So you know, if you know anybody who needs an ultra sub, i could do it. Oh, although the fatwas issued against rusty was finally lifted, the Iranian Press continued to put a price on his head. The price rose 500000. 20 in 2016. And on the eve of the sinister 30th anniversary of the fatwas, some religious fanatics decided to add another 300000. 00 to the 3000000. 00 offered 15 years ago by ayatollah hassan son. I. While the muslim uproar over the satanic verses continued larry david, who produced hbo comedy series, curb your enthusiasm, asked rusty if he was willing to draw a line under the fatwas. And that period by doing a sketch about it. When they 1st approached me to ask me to do it, my 1st reaction was im not sure that this is funny is, is this really funny . And then i thought about it, and i thought, well, actually they would be the point in my life when it really wasnt funny at all. You know. But, but if we have now reached a point at which it can be comedy, you know, which we can make jokes about it. Then actually thats a very good point to reached out. And so the, so i said yes, im happy to do it because it is from mr. David is here now. Yesterday. Come in, please. Obviously, you know, you survive many, many years. Well its, you know, its there. Yeah. But ah, that philosophy. Yeah. Can be scary. Could be move, hillary cetera, but there are things that you gain a lot of women who are attracted to you in this condition. Really, i didnt think there was any condition that they did. You are in a dangerous math. There are very beautiful women, the football wrapped around you. Like kind of sexy pixie dust ah, but what sex is beginning to circle around you, but that is not the only benefit. For example, you dont have to go to anything you dont want to go to. So like your cousin is giving a reading of his lousy poetry book, you say, sorry, cant make it, papa thought law, somebody calls you says, can you come pick me up at the airport . You say, cant make it up. I cant make it this musical. Its about me right, the us. So, i mean, im interested. I dont think there really will be a musical fatwas. The musical was air just once on hbo. Following an episode of david show featuring rusty, she right him hiding out. Know in the hole in very sleeping, the taking its toll. I got the purpose to pry now. I know gone now i need a plan. I do not like this good job mocks. Me all the spice with me, but i respected i rather i towards time like this man. Come until the silly it was just double dont book with no i put them up. Oh god knows a good evening everyone. Please join me in welcoming Salman Rushdie. Dont paula with the pardon a already on prior leave. Just text. Yeah. Like i havent thought of a tick. Oh, going with your questions you can find the answers here. All the games, all the goals. The point is to go highlights through d w with making the whats behind d w, news africa. They show that the issues in the continent life is slowly getting back to normal here on the streets to give you enough reports on the inside our correspond. That was on the ground reporting from across the continent. All the trend stuff, the mob to you t w. News africa every friday on d w. Ah ah ah, ah. Ah, business d w is lying from berlin. The runner up in canada as president ial election breaks the silence and rejects the result where i low data says he will challenge his defeat to william roto but urges canyons to remain peaceful through the process will bring you the latest from nairobi