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TO SHABBIR AKHTAR

Born in Pakistan but having lived many years in Bradford, Akhtar led protests against Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. He opposed violence, but helped organise a ritual burning of the book. His own book entitled Be Careful with Muhammad: The Salman Rushdie Affair was published in 1989. In the midst of the controversy he wrote to Greene, asking for advice.

3 July 1989

Dear Dr. Akhtar,

I sympathise with you over this silly Rushdie affair. I doubt whether I can be of much help however. I haven’t read Rushdie’s book and have no desire to. I can sympathise with anyone who loses his faith altogether, but then there is no need to preach disbelief. One should allow others to believe what one has ceased to believe oneself. On the other hand I disapprove equally of death sentences.30

As a very doubting Catholic (that is to say I very much doubt the infallibility of the Pope) I would be on Rushdie’s side perhaps if he hadn’t apparently made a mock of all believers. I have occasionally mocked the Pope but that is quite different from mocking those who believe in the existence of Christ. I respect their belief and sometimes share it. I think your articles are excellent and I think you should persist in what you are doing.

Yours sincerely,
Graham Greene

PS Without having read his book and judging by reports I would say that Rushdie was guilty of shocking bad taste but that hardly justifies violence and death.

Greene never admired Islamic culture. His first direct encounter with it was in Liberia in 1935, where, as he remarked in old age, one offensive Mandingo porter aroused in him ‘a few prejudices reinforced today by that horrible old man Khomeini’. Throughout his life Greene took the side of the Israelis against the Arabs. A particular admirer of Moshe Dayan, the hero of the Six Day War, he feared nonetheless that Menachem Begin and the Likud Party might fail to take the steps necessary for peace. See Allain, 107–16.


Date: 2015-02-03; view: 795


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