Rushdie ‘may write book on fatwa’

July 29, 2008

Sir Salman Rushdie says he may write a book about the fatwa imposed on him 20 years ago after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses.

The author, who went into hiding for nine years, told BBC’s Newsnight he had found the experience "very difficult".

"I guess there’s a story there," he said. "Various people [are] encouraging me to tell it, and maybe I will."

Iran’s late Ayatollah Khomeini imposed the fatwa over The Satanic Verses’ reference to the prophet Mohammad.

The Booker Prize-winner said his solitude was "full of restrictions and problems, not just for me but for my family and publishers.

"The bad period was roughly speaking nine years long. It’s now been nine years since then. So it does feel like an earlier chapter."

"At the time it was something I was just trying to get through and get out of," he added.

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