From Ink to Blood | A Story of the World's Most Cursed Book
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In the summer of 1991, the thriving metropolitan area of Tokyo bustled with the activity of people enjoying warm July temperatures among tight-knit skyscrapers, apartments, and narrow streets. About 40 miles northeast of Tokyo, a burgeoning city, Tsukuba, was growing as a center for research and scientific breakthroughs.

After the city began to develop in the 1960s, bringing together several small towns, the University of Tsukuba was founded in 1973, ushering in a new hub for higher education and learning in Japan. Hitoshi Igarashi had begun working at the University of Tsukuba in 1986.

An avid and knowledgeable scholar in his mid-forties, Igarashi had gained prestige in his field of Islamic studies. He had studied Islamic art in Tokyo and traveled to Iran to continue his studies in the 1970s before returning to Japan.

A respected expert in Arabic and Persian literature and history, he worked as an assistant professor of comparative culture at the University of Sukuba and wrote and translated books about Islamic culture. On the morning of July 12, 1991, a janitor was going about her work at the University of Sukuba.

As she reached the seventh floor of the office building, she found Igarashi's body in the hallway outside his office, where Igarashi had been working late into the evening after meeting with some students. Igarashi had suffered stab wounds that slashed across his face, neck, and hands, and had succumbed to his injuries where he lay between 10 pm and 2 am during the night.

Beside his sprawled body lay his briefcase, left untouched, still holding hundreds of dollars worth of money. Only eight days before, across the world, a fellow scholar and translator suffered a strikingly similar attack in the charming Italian city of Milan. A man claiming to be Iranian had approached Ettore Capriolo, acting as though he needed a translator for a pamphlet.

The man stabbed Capriolo in his apartment in Milan, leaving him severely injured but alive. The two attacks, though they were over 6,000 miles apart, had one vital connection. Both Capriolo and Igarashi had translated the novel "The Satanic Verses" into their respective countries' language. Part 1: The Satanic Verses Hits the Markets

By 1988, British Indian author Salman Rushdie had already left an imprint on the literary world. He published back-to-back books in 1981 and 1983 that caught the attention of critics and received several award nominations. Rushdie was a bold author, eager to share stories relevant to current events and history.

He was a fan of satire and the ability of artists to use their skills and work to criticize leaders, government, the political sphere, and corruption. True to form, Rushdie did not back away from writing edgy plotlines and conveying ideas through his characters with the potential to ruffle feathers. His second and third award-winning novels addressed the political nuances of India and Pakistan respectively.

Cementing Rushdie on the international literary stage has a unique and ambitious voice, whose work would inspire controversy because of its blatant references to real-world occurrences. In 1988, Rushdie published his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, in Britain. The decade had been a successful one for Rushdie thus far,

Since his rise to literary prominence only seven years before, he had favored subjects and protagonists that reflected his Indian background and refusal to shy away from complex social and political contexts. The Satanic Verses was no different, as it followed Rushdie's usual surreal writing style of merging magical realism with historical concepts.

Written as a frame story embedded with several dream sequences, the novel follows two protagonists who emigrated from India to Britain, a character motif common in Rushdie's work, drawn from his own experience as an immigrant himself who migrated from India to Britain. An intense scene in which the two characters are miraculously saved from a hijacked plane launches the plot.

which explores topics such as alienation and the immigration experience. Upon his novel's publication, Rushdie received widespread acclaim for the Satanic Verses, receiving nominations for several awards and the praise of critics. Literary analysts applauded it for its bluntness, its honesty, and its relevance in a multicultural world.

However, not everyone was pleased. It was not long before the novel sparked explosive controversy in the Islamic world. Rushdie grew up in Muslim culture, though he later opted for an atheistic view

While writing the Satanic verses, he drew upon his background and knowledge of Islam, deciding to depict the Prophet Muhammad, a highly revered figure in Islam, as the central character in one of the dream sequences. In this segment of the novel,

Rushdie referenced a portion of the Quran known as the Satanic Verses. A section of the Quran that praised pagan goddesses and, according to Islamic legend, was later withdrawn based on the claim that the devil had tricked Muhammad into believing that God sent him the verses. But Rushdie made a critical decision that sliced the world in two. He altered the verses in the way Muhammad was portrayed

forcing it out of alignment with the Islamic holy book and Islamic legend. The book's reputation grew in both fame and infamy.

While critics in the Western world celebrated the Satanic Verses for pushing boundaries, many people in Muslim countries accused the novel of blasphemy because of its reference to the Satanic Verses and its perceived misrepresentation of Muhammad. The edginess that had, in part, propelled Rushdie into the literary spotlight and prompted celebration by critics had also drawn the fury of millions of Muslims around the world.

In retrospect, Rushdie would later say that he expected some backlash following the publication of the novel that depicted such a revered figure in Islamic theology. He assumed it would usher in a conversation about the themes he focused on in the story, and that he and those in disagreement with the novel would be able to have an open dialogue addressing any concerns about the book in the public sphere.

Little did Rushdie know, within a matter of a few years, the book would dramatically alter the lives of himself and others tied to the book and, in some cases, end them. This episode is brought to you by Acorns. Imagine if every purchase you made could help build your financial future effortlessly. Thanks to Acorns, this

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Part 2. Meanwhile in Iran.

The decade prior to the release of the Satanic Verses had been one of tumultuous political change for Iran, a largely Muslim nation and a major player in Middle Eastern politics. The 20th century was riddled with changes to the governmental structure. Iran had experienced a long revolution early in the 20th century as clergy, merchants, scholars and landowners attempted to angle the country toward reform.

But the revolution didn't hold for long, especially as foreign nations in the West maneuvered themselves in the Middle East, reaching into and making their own adjustments to Iran's internal affairs. The United Kingdom worked behind the scenes to establish a monarchy in Iran during the 1920s and throughout the coming decades. The United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States would all take part in determining the path of the monarchy.

For a large chunk of the 20th century, Iran was governed by a monarchy and heading into the 1970s, the monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah, led the nation into an era of intense westernization and urbanization that became known as the White Revolution. The Shah spent heavily on government projects and programs to further his goals.

launching land reforms, education campaigns to promote literacy, and adjustments to the electoral process to make political power more accessible to women and non-Muslims. From the start, the reforms that pushed the country toward modeling a modern westernized civilization raised red flags for ultra-religious groups and Islamic leaders in Iran. Even though the reforms were meant to usher in an industrial boom,

the government projects didn't have the desired outcome for the economy in Iran. As fallout occurred from the rapid changes made by the Shah, the country was confronted with economic challenges and inflation that left frustrated Iranians unemployed and trapped in a lower standard of living. The Shah's reach into the lives of Iranians didn't stop at their pocketbooks and distant governmental policies.

The regime implemented forceful social oppression that didn't shy away from extreme methods of quelling protests, such as torture and surveillance. Censorship and unjustified arrests were common. Political parties that did not align with the Shah's vision for the country were outlawed. Political participation was slim, and Iranians who spoke out against the regime often placed themselves in harm's way.

In a tight decade, Iran flipped into a completely new direction. What had been a rural and traditional nation, largely dictated by Islamic laws and values, transformed into an urban and industrial country following the path of secularism that many Western countries had taken. With so much change in such a short period of time, coupled with the economic and social crises that accompanied the transformation,

dissidence against the government was inevitable. In response to this political turmoil, support for overthrowing the regime mounted and whispers of another revolution, like the one earlier in the century, began to flutter about the country. A loose alliance of various political parties who opposed the Shah formed.

and at the forefront of this movement against the monarchy was a single, loud, powerful voice that rang out, most notably among all the others. That of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khomeini was a stern-faced man fiercely dedicated to studying and practicing traditional Islamic law. He had risen to a position of authority in the Muslim world as an Islamic religious scholar and professor of philosophy in Iran.

In his teachings, he emphasized the importance of incorporating Islam as the central component of social and political movements. When the Shah launched the White Revolution in 1963, Khomeini's ideals clashed with all the Shah's recent decisions for the direction that the nation should take, putting him at odds with the regime. The rise of secularism in Iran disturbed Khomeini, so he took action.

Soon after the reforms began, he propelled himself to the front lines of the culture war coursing through the nation. A seasoned lecturer and public speaker with years of experience in academia under his belt, he wrote powerful pieces against the Shah and his reforms without fear of consequence. Even releasing a manifesto with other Islamic scholars that called out the Shah and his policies,

In public spaces, Khomeini delivered fiery speeches, denouncing and openly criticizing the Shah and his programs. As a strict Islamic fundamentalist, Khomeini opposed the Shah's push toward westernization and disagreed with his compliance with foreign powers. Iranian authorities and leaders cautioned Khomeini, but he refused to be silenced, continuing to preach his ideas.

However, in a regime willing to censor opposing views, Khomeini's outspokenness would not go unpunished. Finally, after months of continual public opposition against the monarchy and a blunt refusal to apologize for his words and opinions, Khomeini was detained by the Iranian government and sent into exile.

For the next 14 years Khomeini bounced from country to country, starting in Turkey, then moving to Iraq for a large swath of his exile, before spending a short time in France prior to his return to Iran.

The Shah expected the exile to silence Khomeini and his mounting popularity as a religious and political voice in Iran. But the exile failed to suppress his voice. Even during an exile intended to stifle Khomeini's expanding influence, Khomeini's power continued to grow.

During his long period of banishment, Khomeini did not end his vocal campaign against the Shah and proceeded to spread his ideas about Islamic government and politics, giving lectures in Iraq, where he remained for most of his time away from Iran. Khomeini claimed that the Shah was driving the country away from its religious roots and was serving the interests of foreign powers such as the United States, not Iranians.

In fact, Khomeini's exile seemed to have the opposite effect than what the Shah intended. His banishment pushed Iranians to seek out his words more adamantly than ever before, regardless of the barriers in place to keep Khomeini from reaching the people. People smuggled tapes and copies of Khomeini's speeches into Iran and distributed them to ensure that they would still hear the message Khomeini continued to share beyond their borders.

as unemployment surged in Iran, and the Shah pressed forward in swinging the culture of the country toward westernization and urbanization. His words resonated with Iranians who felt powerless under the Shah's regime and were becoming increasingly frustrated with the Shah's rule. In 1978, Iran reached a boiling point.

Unsurprisingly, Khomeini, now intensely popular among the Iranian public, lay at the center of the controversy. A newspaper in Tehran made comments that some perceived to slander Khomeini, triggering a protest of Iranian students that grew to thousands. Though the protest began because of a printed comment about Khomeini, it morphed into something much more significant: a full-scale revolution against the Shah and his reforms.

the country launched into a series of violent, chaotic protests that led to hundreds of deaths. The deaths of protesters spurred further protests, yet the deaths did not stop. Iranian troops began to open fire on protesters, killing hundreds. As months passed and the revolution wore on, it began to consume other aspects of everyday life in Iran.

Eventually, Iranians were not only protesting, workers began to go on strike, both in the government and the oil industry, causing the gears of one of Iran's central industries to grind to a halt. The workers flexed their power, and the economy suffered as a result, adding an impactful layer to the revolution.

Throughout the revolution, though Khomeini remained in exile, he worked behind the scenes as an instrumental player in orchestrating and expanding the revolution and incessantly calling for the Shah's regime to end. He had become a respected, well-known voice in the Islamic world that carried weight among Iranians and spurred the revolution forward. Finally, at the beginning of 1979, the Shah, already weakened by cancer,

went on vacation with his family outside the country. He never returned. He had decided to abdicate his throne. Soon after the Shah left, the rest of the government collapsed as the remaining council struggled to function properly and the prime minister failed to find a compromise that would please the political parties and Khomeini. The revolution was successful,

the regime imploded, leaving an opportunity for a new leader to emerge as the face of the Iranian government. After the Shah fled the country, thousands gathered in the capital city of Tehran to celebrate victory in their fight against the Shah and to support Khomeini.

the Islamic leader who had fueled so much of the revolution that it brought them out from under the Shah's thumb. On February 1, 1979, cheers erupted and demonstrators celebrate as Khomeini returned to Iran for the first time in 14 years, bringing an end to his exile. That spring, Khomeini took control of Iran as its religious leader, stating that Iran would now become an Islamic republic.

Later that year, he would name himself the Supreme Leader of Iran. Khomeini immediately started to undo what the Shah and his policies had accomplished in Iran over the past decade. Rejecting the Shah's push toward westernization and secularism, he implemented movements and laws that aligned with his conservative traditional Islamic values.

even though he had publicly claimed to support some rather liberal views, for example, more rights for women. As he sought to gain the favor of the Iranian public to overthrow the Shah, Khomeini pulled back from these views once he gained power and swung the nation back toward extremely conservative policies. Khomeini ensured that his fundamentalist values were ubiquitous in Iranian politics and society.

The new religious policies impacted Iranians in many aspects of their lives, from the way they could behave to the way they could dress in public. Khomeini focused on expelling the Western influence, often by violent means, that the Shah had introduced to Iran. With the Shah gone and Khomeini back in the country as supreme leader, Iran entered a brand new era of Islamic law.

By the time the revolution ended, Khomeini had established himself as a well-known name across the world, even becoming Time magazine's Man of the Year in 1979 because of the influence he had cultivated across the world. He had reached a new height of authority and fame across the Islamic world and served as a symbol for Islamic leadership.

For the next ten years, Khomeini would lead Iran under strict Islamic law, returning the country to its traditional and religious leanings that dictated Iran before the Shah's surge toward westernization. Iran's reignited passion for Islamic fundamentalism under their new leader set the stage for the controversy looming on the horizon as Rushdie established himself in the literary world.

When the Satanic Verses hit markets in 1988, Khomeini had been in power for nearly a decade in Iran. The collision of Rushdie's edgy novel with this renewed Islamic fundamentalism and a leader unafraid to voice his disdain with what he saw as wrong was bound to cause an explosion. Part 3: The Satanic Verses Controversy Boils Over

The controversy around the Satanic Verses continued to build in Muslim communities and countries for months, bleeding into the year following the book's publication. Thirteen countries with large Muslim populations, from Iran and India to Pakistan and Indonesia, banned the Satanic Verses because of the offense it caused Muslims.

Protests surged in the Middle East and Europe, some turning deadly. In a protest in Pakistan in February 1989, 10,000 people gathered to voice their opposition against the book. During the protest, demonstrators attacked the American Cultural Center, leading to six deaths. Violence and book banning spread throughout the different countries, seeping into Europe with protesters publicly burning the novel in the United Kingdom.

Stories of protests continued to pour out from the media. 7,000 demonstrators came together to burn a copy of the Satanic Verses in Bolton, United Kingdom in December of 1988. A month later, 1,000 people gathered in Bradford, a town with a large Muslim community, in the same nation to do the same.

On Valentine's Day of 1989, as millions around the world celebrated love, Khomeini spoke on Radio Tehran and issued a bold statement about Rushdie and his novel. Khomeini not only condemned the book as blasphemous in the context of Islam, but he also ordered a fatwa, an immovable and stringent ruling on the basis of Islamic law, that called for the execution of Rushdie and his publishers.

One of the most influential voices in the Middle East had spoken. Everyone associated with the book was now in life-threatening danger. The fatwa brought the already tense situation to a new level. In the Islamic world, issuing a fatwa is a serious order of death, firm and irreversible by anyone but the person who issued the fatwa. Rushdie responded to Khomeini's order over the radio on BBC.

denying that his novel was an example of blasphemy and made a pointed statement against Khomeini himself, saying that Khomeini might need some criticism in light of his actions. The fatwa placed a bounty on Rushdie's head as an Iranian religious foundation offered a $1 million reward for assassinating Rushdie. Within a couple years, the bounty on Rushdie's head rose to $2 million.

The order and the accompanying bounty forced Rushdie into hiding under police protection for years. Rushdie stowed himself away to a farmhouse in rural Wales and bounced around safe houses, living under an alias, Joseph Anton, to add another layer of protection.

From there, the threat escalated and spiraled around the globe, spurring more resistance against the book beyond the demonstrations that had already occurred throughout Muslim communities prior to the fatwa. Violence exploded, bookstores were bombed, book burnings as signs of protest ignited across different countries, deadly riots consumed various communities,

more deaths and injuries started to accumulate, adding to the chaos of the controversy engulfing the Satanic Verses. Days after the fatwa was issued, 10,000 protesters demonstrated at the British High Commission in Mumbai, India. Police killed 12 people and left 40 injured when they opened fire on the protesters.

Several months later, 20,000 Muslims gathered to demonstrate in London, outside Westminster, the home of Parliament in Great Britain. Skirmishes started among protesters and police officers, sparking arrests. In the fall of 1989, the United Kingdom experienced yet another scare in association with the Satanic Verses. Four bombs were placed strategically outside bookshops owned by Penguin, the novel's publisher.

One bomb went off, but the others were discovered and diffused before exploding. The incidents were stacking up. The controversy even had large-scale consequences on international relations. Shortly after the fatwa, the diplomatic relationship between the United Kingdom and Iran crumbled because of the death order on Rushdie. The two countries would not repair their relationship until the end of the next decade.

On the international stage, the controversy caused by the publication of the Satanic Verses also wove another narrative, as an experiment testing to what extent literary freedom would be viewed as acceptable.

Bookstores in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States faced the crucial decision of whether or not to stock the book in their stores, a difficult choice in light of the risk of bombings that had already impacted bookstores that refused to remove the book from their shelves. Some booksellers and publishers stood by the book, citing the importance of freedom of expression.

while others refused to stand behind a book that had offended such a large religious community and had the potential to endanger those associated with it in any way. Politicians, communities, and media figures began to take sides along the spectrum of defending or opposing Rushdie, dividing the world and displaying that, for some, there are limitations to literary freedom. In late May, Khomeini lay in an Iranian hospital.

Years of weakening health were finally catching up to him. Five heart attacks wracked his body within just 10 days. Khomeini was laying on his deathbed. In early June, less than four months after issuing the infamous fatwa, he passed away. It was a blistering start to the summer in Iran. Yet, huge swathes of Iranians crowded the streets to grieve his death.

Fire trucks hosed down groups of people to fight the heat as Iranians mourned the loss of the leader who had influenced the direction of the Islamic world to such a great extent over the past two decades. A week after Khomeini's death, millions of people filled the streets of Tehran to honor their leader as Khomeini's funeral procession headed to the cemetery.

People rushed the funeral procession to try to touch Khomeini's burial shroud or see his body, and they managed to tear pieces of the shroud from the body. There was so much chaos amid the mourners that guards had to fire warning shots to ensure Khomeini's body was protected. As a result of the chaos and the incident with Khomeini's shroud, the funeral was postponed so that Khomeini's body could be prepared for burial again.

With security tightened for the second attempt at a funeral, Khomeini's body was finally buried five hours later. Even though Khomeini had died, his influence continued to thrive, as indicated by the high turnout at his funeral and the mourning rippling through his nation. His impact lasted regarding his statements about the Satanic Verses and Rushdie too. He had never rescinded the fatwa while he was alive,

Fatwas can only be rescinded by the person who initially issued the order. Now that Khomeini was gone, there was no way to take it back. The fatwa and the danger dangling over Rushdie's head would continue beyond Khomeini's death. Part 4: The Unbreakable Strength of the Fatwa Even with Rushdie's chief and most influential dissident, Ayatollah Khomeini, dead, life did not return to normal for Rushdie.

Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, kept the fatwa against Rushdie alive. Rushdie remained in hiding, avoiding public appearances and living under the constant pressure of death threats. Several times in 1989 and 1990 following the fatwa, Rushdie attempted to apologize for any offense he had caused with the satanic verses for those who followed Islam.

he distanced himself from the views of some of the characters in his novel that could be perceived as offensive to Islam. Rushdie said that the book was not about Islam and did not intend to criticize the religion. He even expressed opposition to publishing the book in a paperback edition. However, Rushdie's repeated attempts at peace and reconciliation with the Muslim world fell flat.

Khamenei responded to Rushdie's apology with a blunt message that reaffirmed his predecessor's unwavering opposition. Even if Rushdie apologized, the fatwa issued against him would never change. The new Iranian regime ushered in a renewed fervor to comply with the fatwa. The month that Khomeini died, a Lebanese man was in the process of preparing a bomb in a hotel in London when the bomb exploded unexpectedly.

The explosion demolished two floors of the hotel and killed the Tabi bomber, later found to be associated with a Lebanese group. In Tehran, the man received a shrine for his plot to kill Rushdie and become known as the first martyr to die in the mission to kill the author. Even though death threats continued to stream in and plots to kill Rushdie formed and crumbled, Rushdie managed to dodge assassination attempts time after time in the months following the fatwa.

The death threat hovered over the book like a predator waiting to strike. Still, like most banned and controversial books, the Satanic Verses found its way into the hands of readers and trickled into new countries for international publication. The Satanic Verses hit markets amid fogs of apprehension, yet sales rose steadily.

In the months after its initial release in the United Kingdom, translations of the book began to appear in European countries such as Italy, Spain, and Norway. However, a dark and foreboding cloud followed the novel wherever it went, and publishers handled the book with careful hands.

The novel did not appear in French stores until about 10 months after the initial release of the Satanic Verses, and the French debut looked much different than a normal book release. The publisher stalled the publication multiple times, pushing back the release date. Bookshops also received the choice to refuse to stock the novel rather than automatically receiving shipments per usual, and some opted to keep the book off their shelves.

There was much less advertising than a usual launch, and the French translator distanced themselves from the entire process by using a pseudonym, remaining far out of the limelight to avoid potential ramifications. Still, the book's sales rose. Its popularity stemmed from more than its critical acclaim. In part, the novel saw success because it had become so controversial, prompting curious readers to buy it.

Within the first year, over 100,000 copies were sold in London. It reached the bestseller list in Italy, garnering 350,000 sales in five months. Despite book bans and public outcry, or perhaps because of it, readers continued to pull the satanic verses off shelves and stores continued to stock the book, perpetuating the controversy. Rushdie remained elusive and untouchable.

but not everyone associated with the book was under the same blanket of protection. Though they did not gain the same notoriety as Rushdie, translators and publishers around the globe also lived in the shadow of the fatwa as they prepared and released the novel in different markets, often in the face of their own share of opposition. Part 5: The Suspicious Attacks Linked to the Novel

By 1991, it seemed that the Rushdie controversy had died down, at least somewhat. Though the fatwa remained active, three years had passed since the initial publication of the novel, and the threat against Rushdie seemed to have largely subsided. But just as the world seemed to move along from the satanic verses, the controversy flared again, this time far from Rushdie himself.

The trouble started in Milan in July with the stabbing of Italian translator Ettore Capriolo by an Iranian man. Capriolo survived the attack and received police protection afterwards. Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi's murder at the University of Tsukuba followed that month, taking the international media by storm. An incident that likely was associated with the fatwa had now claimed the life of a respected professor.

the fatwa had turned deadly. There was no evidence to point to a killer, and no group in Japan claimed responsibility for the attack. In fact, the lack of evidence made it impossible for the authorities to confirm that the Satanic Verses was related to the murder at all. But the timing was undeniable, and many immediately pounced on the only connection between Capriolo and Igarashi which was the translation of the Satanic Verses.

Even though it lacked a large Muslim population, Japan had not dodged the opposition against the novel that was wreaking havoc across Europe and the Middle East. The country's Islamic Center in Tokyo, which had about 30,000 members at the time, had joined in the outcry against the novel in 1989, asking Japanese publishers not to translate the book.

In 1990, a leader of Pakistani Association and Japan had expressed agreement with the fatwa, providing his own stamp of approval for the death order against Rushdie. The Japanese publisher who decided to translate and publish Rushdie's novel experienced protests outside its office and reported death threats. A Pakistani was also arrested in 1990 for attempting to assault a promoter for the Satanic Verses.

This, paired with reports that Igarashi had once needed security, pointed investigators toward the fatwa as a likely reason for Igarashi's stabbing. Rushdie himself assumed the connection, offering his condolences to Igarashi's family and urged world leaders to join the fight, and he asked the Iranian government to call off the fatwa in light of the murder.

Still, the Iranian government refused to revoke the fatwa or discourage Muslims from acting upon it. Two years after Igarashi's murder, violence flared again, this time in Turkey.

At a hotel in Eastern Turkey in July 1993, a group of scholars, writers and artists gathered to recognize the death of a 16th century poet who was killed because of his disagreement with religious oppression. Aziz Nesin, a Turkish writer, joined the meeting alongside his fellow artists. Nesin, already a target of Islamic fundamentalists because of his reputation as a committed atheist,

had translated and published excerpts from the satanic verses in a newspaper. That day, a crowd of hundreds of angry Islamic fundamentalists accumulated in the streets around the hotel, making threats and chanting Islamic slogans. That evening, the mob set fire to the hotel. Nesson himself, the intended target, escaped the flames by using a ladder provided by rescue vehicles and fled the area in a police van.

But many of the others at the meeting were not as lucky. The fire left at least 35 artists and scholars in attendance at the meeting dead and 60 more injured, cementing the massacre as one of the most deadly fallouts of violence over the Satanic Verses. It took only a matter of months for yet another person involved in publishing the book to suffer an attack, this time to the north in Norway.

That October, Norwegian publisher William Nygaard was leaving his home in a quiet suburb near Oslo. Suddenly, he was shot from behind three times in the back and stomach, leaving the publisher with serious injuries. However, Nygaard miraculously survived, though the attack landed him in the hospital for months to recover from his injuries.

As with Igarashi's murder, the authorities could not confirm that the motive was related to the Satanic verses, but the pattern had become difficult to ignore. They suspected that, once again, Iranians likely had a hand in the attack from behind on Nygaard. What began with a call for the death of one man had grown to encompass an entire network of publishers, translators, and professionals in the literary industry across the globe.

Rushdie expressed concern with the attacks and, still faced with new threats and reports of assassination plots, thrusted himself back into hiding in the 1990s to avoid further attempts on his life. As the years wore on, time did not quell Iran's desire to fulfill the death order against Rushdie. Instead, organizations and groups in the country doubled down on its commitment to the fatwa

even boosting the bounty offered by the Religious Foundation for Rushdie's death from $2 million to $2.5 million in 1997. However, after six years of hiding under constant security, Rushdie crept back into the public eye, beginning with his first scheduled public appearance in 1995 at a panel in London.

The panel was a milestone for Rushdie, though he had made unplanned appearances here and there over the years, including a surprise appearance at a U2 concert in London in 1993. Security would remain a constant reality in Rushdie's life for several years beyond the panel, but he was on his way toward living a more normal life. In 1998, it seemed that the situation was shifting toward peace.

The Iranian government indicated that it was prepared to change its stance on the Rushdie controversy, in large part to repair diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. The Iranian president, Mohammad Hatami, declared that the Rushdie controversy was over, claiming that the country wanted to move into a period of conservation among different communities, rather than violence and war.

His stance on Rushdie remained neutral. Iran would not support nor oppose attempts to kill Rushdie. Although Iran did not voice support for Rushdie, Atami's public statements to the press provided hope that, after a decade of chasing after the author of the satanic verses, and leaving a trail of bodies, acts of violence, and multiple assassination plots and attacks, Iran was finally ready to move on.

Iran's leaders had spoken the words that Rushdie and others had been eager to hear for a decade, as they called for peace and reconciliation. But only weeks after the placating announcement, it became clear that not everyone in Iran shared this desire to forgive and forget. 160 members of the parliament in Iran stated that they viewed the death order as active regardless of the declaration issued by their government.

Private groups in Iran followed suit, reinforcing their support of the Fatwa. The 15 Hordad Foundation defiantly bumped up their reward money for Rushdie's death once more.

now from $2.5 million to $2.8 million. A student group also voiced their support for the continuance of the fatwa, offering up $1 billion for the death of Rushdie. Years later, in 2005, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei shared a message with Muslims traveling to the Islamic holy city of Mecca during their yearly pilgrimage.

In that message, in spite of promises that Iran's leaders made to shift away from the death sentence against Rushdie, Khamenei once again mentioned the fatwa, yanking it back onto the Iranian stage. Part 6: The Satanic Verses Controversy Bleeds Into the 21st Century

The day following the 11th anniversary of the fatwa, the day after Valentine's Day in 1999, the famous legacy magazine, The New Yorker, published a tell-all piece by Rushdie in which he recounted his experience of living under the fatwa and how he persevered in writing and expressing himself in the literary world regardless of the obstacles presented by the death sentence.

Rushdie's dry humor, which commonly popped up in his writing and interviews, made an appearance as he jokingly referred to the fatwa issued by Khomeini as his "unfunny valentine". By the turn of the century, Rushdie's concern about the death sentence had faded. In light of Iran's public statements about stepping back from the controversy the previous year, he viewed the threat as more of a talking point used for the sake of argument than a genuine danger.

Rushdie moved on with his life as an author and a public figure, publishing more books and scaling back on his tight security. But even as the century changed, the Satanic vs. controversy had not been forgotten by Islamic fundamentalists and continued to haunt Rushdie's life, even as it returned closer to normal. Over the years, both Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda made references to Rushdie and the need for his death.

Potential threats remained a concern at some public appearances, but for the most part, Rushdie lived free of security as the imminent danger he had lived under since the fatwa faded. Yet even so, the existence of the fatwa bubbled beneath the surface of ordinary life, lingering on the fringes of the literary world and making the occasional appearance over the years.

The Iranian government remained distant from the death order and the Rushdie controversy. But even as recently as 2016, money was being raised to increase the bounty on his head.

In August 2022, Rushdie was invited to give a lecture at an event in Western New York in the small, picturesque town of Chautauqua. That evening, he stepped down on a stage at the outdoor amphitheater of the Chautauqua Institution, a non-profit education center and resort, to speak at an event organized around writers who faced persecution for their work and pushback against free expression.

2500 people attending the event filled the amphitheater, awaiting Rushdie's speech. The event moderator began to introduce Rushdie, who was about to start his lecture.

What Rushdie did not know is that 24-year-old Hadi Matar, a first-generation Lebanese-American man originally from New Jersey, was among those in attendance at the amphitheater that evening. Like the other people at the lecture, Matar had obtained a ticket to attend and was in the amphitheater audience. However, Matar was not there to listen to Rushdie's speech or to attend the remainder of the event.

Unbeknownst to those around him, he had a much more nefarious plan in mind. The event started smoothly. Police were in attendance at the lecture, a necessary security precaution given Rushdie's tense history riddled with assassination attempts. The event proceeded as planned, but the peace shattered as event moderator Henry Reese introduced Rushdie on stage.

As Rushdie was about to start his speech, Matar, dressed in all black and wearing a black mask, rushed onto the platform and began to beat Rushdie, punching and stabbing him repeatedly. Stunned spectators looked on in confusion, unsure how to react.

Some later claimed that initially, they thought the attack was a creative stunt to launch the lecture, meant to illustrate the danger that Rushdie still faced as a persecuted author who had published a widely controversial work. The confusion quickly morphed into horror as the attack unfolded for the next 20 seconds, leaving Rushdie lying on the stage with serious stab wounds in the neck and abdomen.

The event moderator, Rhys, who was on stage with Rushdie at the time, didn't escape uninjured either. Matar attacked him as well, leaving him with a facial injury. The police present during the lecture leaped into action, arresting Matar, as shocked and gasping audience members were quickly directed out of the amphitheater. Rushdie was whisked away to a hospital for emergency surgery. At the hospital, he was placed on a ventilator in critical condition.

He spent the next six weeks recovering in the hospital, suffering from a damaged liver, nerve damage in his arm, and loss of vision in one eye. While it was unclear if the attacker's motives were linked to the Satanic vs. controversy, Mattar's social media accounts indicated alignment with Islamic extremist groups, including ones in favor of the fatwa against Rushdie.

The years of hiding, living on the run, and dodging attack plots meant to end his life had finally caught up with Rushdie. The incident reignited the global conversation around the author and the Satanic Verses controversy. Recalling Igarashi's death and the attacks on the other publishers and translators in the 1990s, Mattar's attack on Rushdie made headlines in Iran.

While the Iranian government steered clear of making major statements against or in favor of the Rushdie stabbing, some Iranian media and organizations made blunt claims affirming Matar's violent actions. After two decades of near silence about the novel, the satanic verses was once again plastered across the pages of legacy newspapers and on the tongues of media figures around the world as news of Rushdie's attack spread.

news of the attack brought the dialogue about freedom of expression versus censorship back to the forefront of global conversation. It was a long road back to health for Rushdie, and once again, he stayed out of the public eye.

After months of recovery and physical therapy, Rushdie spoke out about the attack in early 2023, considering himself lucky to be alive. Still, he lives with constant physical reminders of the stabbing, as he completely lost vision in one of his eyes and has nerve damage in his hand and arm that causes numbness in some parts of his hands.

Beyond that, Rushdie felt the mental damage of the attack still weighing on him as he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder following the incident. Especially after living without security for 20 years, Rushdie struggled with the fact that he might have to start weaving more security back into his life. In the wake of the attack, he found it difficult to write, not only because of the physical ailments which caused numbness in his fingertips, but also because of the mental toll the attack had taken on him.

Rushdie did not return to a stage until nearly a year after the attack when he made his first public appearance since the incident at a gala in New York to accept an award for his courage, taking the time to thank those who jumped into action to save his life the previous year. Part 7: The Legacy of the Satanic Verses Controversy Lives On It has been 35 years since Khomeini issued his initial fatwa.

Yet the string of crimes that occurred across the globe and the alleged connection with the publication of the novel is still remembered. Hitoshi Igarashi, Ettore Capriolo, William Nygaard, Aziz Nesin, and the victims killed in the arson attack in Turkey. The names of the victims of the Satanic Versus attacks live on as reminders of those who defied pressure and stood for freedom of expression in the face of death threats.

Multiple attacks associated with the novel remain unsolved and, in most cases, no suspects were ever charged for the crimes. Investigations in both Japan and Norway stalled, leaving victims and family members frustrated. Even as investigators hit roadblocks, they indicated that they had found no motive for the crimes aside from the victims' link to the Satanic Verses.

In Hitoshi Igarashi's stabbing at the University of Sokuba, no one was ever charged. The case remains unsolved. In Norway, authorities have yet to charge anyone in connection with the shooting of publisher William Nygaard. But news organizations in Norway suggested that in 2018, there were two suspects, both associated with Muslim countries. Still, no one has been convicted for the crime.

In Turkey, 124 people were charged for a role in the hotel massacre in Sivas, Turkey, in the attempt on Nezin's life. The defendants received varying sentences, ranging from 2 to 15 years in prison to the death penalty. In Sivas, residents take time to remember the victims of the massacre on its anniversary each year. They gather to protest and hold vigils for the lives lost in the hotel fire.

Nygaard, now retired from publishing, is currently the chairman of Norway's Chapter of Pen, an international organization of writers dedicated to promoting and protecting freedom of speech and expression. In the spirit of this literary freedom, Nygaard said, 25 years after the attempt on his life, that he does not regret publishing the Satanic Verses, despite his brush with death because of his choice to publish Rushdie's novel.

In fact, he would do it again for the sake of defending the freedom of expression for authors and artists. Though Igarashi's attacker was never captured, he and those who suffered because of their participation in the publication of the Satanic Verses remain one of the primary testaments and displays of commitment to upholding literary freedoms of speech and expression.

Few pieces of art have rivaled Rushdie's novel and the explosion of controversy that its publication launched throughout the world. Now, it sparks conversation and investigation into freedom of speech, displaying how far many artists and writers will go to protect pre-expression. The Satanic vs. Controversy impacted Rushdie's life in major ways.

But it did not stop him from moving forward with his career as an author. Since he released "The Satanic Verses," Rushdie has written 16 other books, including novels, short story collections, and nonfiction books. His most recent novel, "Victory City," was released in 2023 after the stabbing in New York. Undeterred by his recent attack, he continues to live in New York, still working and making public appearances.

Rushdie himself has used his experiences to speak out about the importance of holding up the freedoms of writers and artists to express their thoughts, share their ideas, and promote open dialogue through their work. Rushdie even released a gripping memoir in 2012, named after his longtime alias while he was in hiding, Joseph Anton, to recount the tumultuous events in his life during the years following the fatwa.

The memoir provided new insight into the unique and emotional rollercoaster Rushdie endured while living under constant security out of the public eye with the serious death sentence hanging over his head, delving into his personal and family life and his work life during those years.

Ultimately, it offers a first-hand exploration of the struggle between the value of freedom of expression and the importance of public opinion, and how words can shape and bend so many lives.

To this day, the Rushdie controversy and those involved, including Igarashi, hold value in literary conversation as examples of the willingness of writers, publishers, and translators to sacrifice for the free spread of ideas among communities.