Indian Muslims Demand To Ban Infamous Rushdie’s Entry To Country

Indian Muslims Demand To Ban Infamous Rushdie's Entry To Country

Muslim leaders have demanded on India to ban Salman Rushdie from entering the country to attend a literary festival, Rushdie is due to attend Asia's largest literary festival in historic Jaipur city from January 20-24.

The visit of Rushdie re-ignited a decades-old blow about the Booker prize-winning author's works.

Rushdie's 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses" was considered blasphemous by many Muslims and sparked calls for him to be killed or persecuted. The threats to his life forced the writer into hiding for years. He has visited India since, even though his book is still banned there.

"India is a country where the sentiments of each community and caste are respected and therefore such a man should not be permitted to come to the country," Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, a prominent Muslim cleric.

His comments echoed those of other clerics at a high-profile Muslim seminary who said Rushdie had offended tens of millions of Muslims by insulting the Prophet Mohammad, according to statements made to Indian media.

The Indian-born Rushdie rejected the demand he be denied a travel permit stating on Twitter "... for the record, I don't need a visa."

Many commented on the microblogging website on Tuesday supporting Rushdie, who won the Booker prize for his novel "Midnight's Children" in 1981.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Wednesday January 11 2012, 3:34 AM EDT. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0