Indonesia opposes Britain’s decision

World Affairs Talk
Monday, 25 June 2007
Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population, expressed its regret over granting of a British knighthood to author Salman Rushdie. Indonesian foreign ministry feels, the timing of the award is not right to create a conducive atmosphere and mutual understanding between civilizations, cultures and religions. Several Indonesian Muslim leaders also expressed disappointment over the knighthood, which was bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II, saying London failed to understand the feelings of the global Islamic community. Rushdie went into hiding in 1989 after Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini issued a religious edict ordering Muslims to kill the writer because he was charged with insulting Islam in his novel ‘The Satanic Verses’. Iran's government said in 1998 that it would not support the edict but could not rescind the order. Rushdie's knighthood would only hurt Muslims' feelings and indicated Britain was not creating understanding among different religions. Share & Bookmark
Last Updated ( Friday, 29 June 2007 )

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