BRITISH author Salman Rushdie is once again at the centre of a controversy following calls by Muslim clerics and political leaders to ban him from attending an Indian literary festival because of his 1988 "blasphemous" novel The Satanic Verses, which is still banned in the country.
Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini placed a bounty on his head, accusing him of blaspheming the Muslim prophet Mohammad in the novel.
Indian media reports yesterday claimed Rushdie had been “persuaded” to stay away from Asia’s largest, five-day Jaipur Literature Festival which starts tomorrow as his presence posed a security risk.
But there was no confirmation from either the 64-year-old author or the festival organisers over whether he would participate alongside playwrights Tom Stoppard, David Hare and Ariel Dorfman, chat show hostess Oprah Winfrey and Iranian writer Kamim Mohammadi.
Festival director Namita Gokhale said the invitation to Rushdie stood, though his scheduled appearance tomorrow had been shifted due to changes in his itinerary, but declined to elaborate.
Muslim groups are planning a protest march in Jaipur to coincide with the festival’s inauguration.
Provincial chief minister Ashok Gehlot meanwhile said protesters’ feelings should not be ignored and that Rushdie should stay away due to security concerns.
But the federal interior ministry in Delhi declared that as a person of Indian origin Rushdie did not need a visa to visit the country and attend the Festival.
Last week, Maulana Abdul Qasim Nomani, the head of Darul Uloom, the world’s second largest madrassah (Islamic seminary), 150km northeast of Delhi urged prime minister Manmohan Singh’s administration to stop Rushdie from participating in the festival as his presence would offend 140 million Indian Muslims.
The seminary preaches an austere form of Islam that has inspired millions of Muslims, including the Taliban and Mr Nomani’s call has since been echoed by India’s leading Muslim political leaders.
Rushdie has attended the annually held literary festival previously without incident, but analysts said voting to elect five provincial legislatures over coming weeks was the prime reason behind the demand to ban him, as Muslims comprised a decisive portion of the electorate.