June 19 |
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is one of the most popular novelists and essayist. The Indian/British author set much of his early fiction in India. A dominant theme of his work is the story of the connections, between the Eastern and Western world. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), centered on the adventures of two Indian actors who fall to earth in Britain when their Air India jet explodes. The book lead to accusations of blasphemy against Islam and demonstrations by Islamist groups in several countries. Some of the protests were violent, with Rushdie facing death threats and a fatwā issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, then Supreme Leader of Iran, for being “against Islam, the Prophet and the Quran.” In response to the call for him to be killed, Salman was forced into hiding under the protection of the British government and police who asked him to use a secret alias to call him by. He thought of writers he loved and combinations of their names; then it came to him: Conrad and Chekhov—Joseph Anton. However, the author became very outspoken on the fatwā's censoring effect and as the threat to freedom of expression for all artists. When Ayatollah Khomeini
suggested that if Salman "apologizes and disowns the book, people may
forgive him", Salman issued an apology regretting
"profoundly the distress the publication has occasioned to the sincere
followers of Islam. Living as we do in a world of many faiths, this
experience has served to remind us that we must all be conscious of the
sensibilities of others." However, on February 14, 2006, the Iranian state
news agency reported that the fatwa will remain in place permanently.
Salman reported that he still receives a "sort of Valentine's card" from
Iran each year on February 14 letting him know the country has not forgotten
the vow to kill him. He was also quoted saying, "It's reached the point
where it's a piece of rhetoric rather than a real threat." In his 2012 Joseph Anton, which was his alias (the book is written in the third person, as if a ‘biography’ of Rushdie/Anton), Salman tells the chilling story of how he and family live with the threat of murder for more than nine years. However, there are also some lighter moments, such after graduating from Cambridge University, Salman wrote a satirical and as of yet unpublished novel about Indira Gandhi, the third prime mister of India, who transforms into a movie star and" at one point...grows her dead father's penis."" To celebrate Salman's birthday,
we suggest making the Satanically delicious appetizer, Devils on Horseback,. Most recipes use
pitted prunes (though dates are sometimes used) stuffed with mango chutney
and wrapped in bacon. Other recipes stuff the prune with cheese in place of
the mango chutney. We prefer chorizo as a filling. Pair it with a viewing of
Then She Found Me
(2007) in which he plays Dr. Masani. |
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Devils on Horseback
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Ingredients |
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16 large prunes, pitted 1 cup dry red wine 3/4 lb chorizo |
1 TB olive oil 1 TB hot sauce 16 slices lean bacon |
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Instructions |
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Serves 8 |
© 2011 Gordon Nary and Tyler Stokes