Salman Rushdie has lived under threat of death for decades after a fatwa was issued in response to the content of his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses.
It was banned in many countries with large Muslim populations, with some Muslims saying the novel contained blasphemous passages.
Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammed was visited by the angel Gibreel – Gabriel in English – who, over a 22-year period, recited God's words to him. In turn, Muhammed repeated the words to his followers. These words were eventually written down and became the verses and chapters of the Quran. In addition, Rushdie's Mahound puts his own words into the angel Gibreel's mouth and delivers edicts to his followers that conveniently bolster his self-serving purposes. Even though, in the book, Mahound's fictional scribe, Salman the Persian, rejects the authenticity of his master's recitations, he records them as if they were God's.
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