Comments on: More reactions to Rushdie knighthood

By: tom p

tom p — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:40:26 +0000

sargeist – the best course of action with these lonies is to ignore them, just asthey should’ve ignored the awarding of this pointless bauble.

By: sean

sean — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:24:17 +0000

I have a great idea for a business venture. I am going to set up an online ordering service which will provide effigies of all creeds and colours for people to burn. Guaranteed flammable. Also provided will be a range of flags and books… impress your friends, and look good on tv! It’d make a fortune, if I could figure out how to get a British safety kite-thing for a burning bush…

By: Sargeist

Sargeist — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:03:35 +0000

The only official response I have found is this one, from the number 10 website:

Asked how the Prime Minister had reacted to a member of the Government effectively saying that this justified retaliation by giving Salman Rushdie a knighthood, the PMOS replied that he was not going to get drawn into it, as it was best left to the proper diplomatic channels.

It seems rather feeble to me. Maybe the PM is waiting until he leaves so that Gordon can deal with it…

By: Sargeist

Sargeist — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:34:10 +0000

The implication that we should not do as we want for fear of homicidal fantasists in other parts of the world must surely be a form of terrorism? I really do hope that we don’t roll over and let the theocrats win on this issue, as that would be a real message (unlike the imagined message that the knighthood was supposed to represent) to any set of religious nutcases that they can control the rest of us.

I’ve done a few searches on the Parliament website, and so far there seem to be no mentions of Rushdie in any debates, as recorded by Hansard. I will keep checking for a few days – there really ought to have been an official statement from the PM by now: Pakistan’s government has essentially told Muslims that they are right to blow themselves up to protect the Prophet’s honour.

In the light of recent events, if the Prophet’s honour is in question, the natural thing to do would seem to be to get his father and uncle to have him killed.