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The Satanic Verses tumulted to success, once it was published in 1988, winning the Whitbread Award for the novel of the year. In Islamic communities, the novel became instantly controversial. Rushdie was accused of misusing freedom of speech. By October 1988, letters and phone calls arrived at Viking Penguin from Muslims, who were infuriated with the book and wanted it to be withdrawn. Thus within the month, the book was banned from being imported in India, although possession of the book is not a criminal offence. In November 1988, it was also banned in Bangladesh, Sudan, and South Africa. By December 1988, it was also banned in Sri Lanka. March 1989 saw it banned in Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, and Singapore and Venezuela.
In early March 1989, the United States FBI was notified of 78 threats to bookstores selling the book. In New York, the office of the community newspaper, The Riverdale Press, was destroyed by bombing, in retaliation for an editorial defending the right to read the novel. Violence against the bookstores continued the longest in the UK. Two large bookstores in Charring Cross Road, London were blown up, explosions went off in the town of High Wycombe and again in London, on Kings Road, among other bombings.
However, the most extreme response was the fatwā issued by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, , on 14 February 1989. The fatwā called for the death of Rushdie and his publishers. Although Khomeini did not give the legal reasoning for this judgment, it was said to be based on the ninth chapter of the Qur'an, At-Tawba, verse 61:
"Some of them hurt the prophet by saying, 'He is all ears!' Say, 'It is better for you that he listens to you. He believes in God, and trusts the bel...
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...r from history could one get?
[Rushdie 1988b:A27]
To read such a powerful text in merely terms of religious blasphemy is an injustice to literature. Rushdie has elucidated how Fiction, though it may take ideas and roots from canons like religion, it spirals off with the novelists’ imagination, and what is produced must not be condemned, but viewed in terms of the creativity of the novelist. In an age of freedom of speech and a modern, liberalized society, the novelist should not be fettered by bounds of religion. For literature and science fill the pools that religion leaves unfilled. Pitiably, Rushdie’s Verses will be remembered more for the controversy and uproar it caused, than the pure genius of magical realism that this work is. However, this very reaction exemplifies the magnamity of the novel, and the sheer genius of the notoriously evasive Salman Rushdie.
A Delusion of Satan was written in 1995 by Frances Hill, and published by Da Capo Press. Frances Hill, an accomplished writer and journalist from London, has been writing for a decent period of time. Aside from publishing two novels, Hill has written fiction reviews for The Time (London) and has worked as a reporter in in both New York and London. With such an accomplished journalist, reporter, and writer, we are due to receive a good read in A Delusion of Satan.
The Winchester brothers dealt with angels and demons in “Supernatural” Season 9, Episode 21 titled “King of the Damned.” However, the main focus of the episode is the issue of control over Hell between demons Crowley (Mark Sheppard) and Abaddon (Alaina Huffman).
The novelist with Christian concerns will find in modern life distortions which are repugnant to him, and his problem will be to make them appear as distortions to an audience which is used to seeing them as natural; and he may be forced to take ever more violent means to get his vision across to this hostile audience. When you can assume that your audience holds the same beliefs you do, you can relax a little and use more normal ways of talking to it; when you have to assume that it does not, then you have to make your vision apparent by shock to the hard of hearing you shout, and for the blind you draw large and
'The novel has long ignited disapproval, and it was the most frequently banned book in schools between 1966 and 1975. Even before that time,
The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions by David Berlinski uses clever and unique critiques of militant atheism and its devotion to scientism. Ten in depth chapters shed light on the dogmatic stance of many of today’s popular “new atheists.” According to Berlinski new atheism poses itself as the sole holder of truth through science, “And like any militant church, this one places a familiar demand before all others: Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (10). Berlinski (a secular Jew) approaches ideas with his own mixture of intelligence and thought filled logic; exploring the world as well as important philosophical questions pertaining to “new atheism”. Thus providing the information needed to explore the sides for both and existence and nonexistence of God.
Across the world there are countless religions, new and old, each having their own unique traditions and laws that believers abide by. As defined by World History, Sharia, the Arabic word meaning “the path” or “the way”, alludes to traditional Islamic law. (Ellis, Esler, and Beers, 255) Sharia originates within the Koran, the holy book of Islam, which Muslims consider the unaltered word of God. Along with the Koran, Sharia is derived from the teachings and examples set by the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, who Muslims view as the perfect man of faith. Muslims believe that God revealed his true conviction to Muhammad, who in turn was to spread the commands of God through the Koran. Between Muhammad’s death in the seventh century and leading up to the tenth century, many Islamic scholars worked to understand Sharia in its entirety, and apply it to the rapidly expanding Muslim Empire of the time (Dunn, 57). Sharia played a key role in uniting the Islamic Empire by serving as the precedent which dictated laws concerning both private and public behavior.
Smart, Ninian, and Richard D. Hecht. "Scripture and Tradition in Islam- The Qur'an and Hadith," Sacred texts of the world: A Universal Anthology, ed.. Crossroads Publishing, 1982. 130-32,135-41,144-46,150-53,158-59,162-64. Print.
There are many stories that follow Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey, and tells the tale of a Heroic character. These fables introduces us to heroes that begin their journey in an ordinary place, then receive a call to enter an unknown world full of bizarre powers and peculiar events. These heroes often display great traits, such as bravery or intelligence, that defines their character. One of these heroic's tales is Haroun and the Sea of Stories, telling the adventures of a young man named Haroun. This essay will prove that Haroun from Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie is a hero, because he possess heroic qualities. Haroun shows his heroic qualities by overcoming obstacles, helping his friends, and having good intentions.
Ayatollah Boroujerdi died in 1961 giving Khomeini the opportunity to vie for the position of the next major religious leader. He succeeded and became the grand ayatollah. Khomeini’s political involvement in Iran increased and became more public. As the Shah continued enacting reforms that distanced Iran more and more from Islamic customs and values, Khomeini began actively protesting. Khomeini’s most notable protest was in June of 1963. In essence, he made a speech denouncing the Shah and claiming that the Iranians wanted to see the Shah leave the country. Because of a repression of freedom of speech at the time, Khomeini was arrested for negative comments about the government. Some Iranians protested...
Typically, when someone thinks of religion, they think about worship of a higher power, compassion for all living things, and a general love of the world. Satanism, while a religion, does not fit these conventions. The faith holds no belief in a higher power, is rather selfish in nature, and paints a bleak picture of the world and its workings. In addition, Satanism has controversy riddled history dating back to the seventeenth century. Due to the religion’s unconventional nature, it is often looked down upon and its principles and values are ridiculed. To better understand a faith like Satanism, it helps to look at it alongside a more familiar and commonly understood religion like Christianity.
In his short story, “The Prophet’s Hair,” Salman Rushdie make use of magic realism, symbolization and situational irony to comment on class, religion, and the fragility of human life. The story is brimming with ironic outcomes that add to the lighthearted and slightly fantastic tone. Rushdie’s use of the genre magic realism capitalizes on the absurdity of each situation but makes the events relevant to readers’ lives. In addition, the irony in the story serves as a way to further deepen Rushdie’s commentary on class and religion. Finally, his use of symbolization focuses on the concept of glass, and just how easily it can be broken.
British writer C.C. Colton once claimed, "Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it; anything but--live for it" (Copeland 345). Indeed, if nothing else, Hanif Kureishi's The Black Album shows the depths to which people concern themselves with questions of religion, ethnicity, and the identity associated with them. Kureishi's themes and symbolism work within a larger context of the politics of identity, race, and nationality. Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses and the larger religious question associated with it, serve to polarize the British community between Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as to polarize people supporting liberation and those supporting containment. Combined with other cultural references, Kureishi uses the literary allusion to create his themes and symbolism.
...re humorous form of satire within his novel, Kabir’s satiric works take on a more serious note. While Kabir was illiterate and therefore unable to compose his oral works, his work was still able to be recorded and spread throughout India, making him one of the most popular and quoted poet in India for the last thousand years. While Kabir also had many other types of works, it was his satire that allowed him to deliver his opinion on religion and the society he lived in. According to the Norton Anthology of World Literature, “He [Kabir] is likely to have been persecuted equally by orthodox Hindus, conservative Muslims, and political authorities for his outspoken criticism of society and organized religion.” Kabir had a strong opinion against organized religion and the ascription of human characteristics to God that took away from the purity of God in Kabir’s eyes.
In Milton’s Paradise Lost, the readers are presented the perspective side of Satan to the biblical story, Adam and Eve. Over the past centuries, there have been numerous stories about Adam and Eve, but there was never a view from the devil himself, Satan. Satan started as a confused and angry person in the beginning. As the story progressed, Satan’s character became stronger and powerful. Toward the middle of the story, Satan acted almost as a political figure; he knew when and what to say to persuade other angels to follow him. Some reader suggests that Satan is the protagonist of the story because he struggled to combat his mistrusts and weaknesses. Nonetheless this goal was evil and Adam and Eve turned out to be the pure heroes at the end of the story while they help begin to fix humankind’s evil fate. There are several reasons why Milton focused so much Satan and gave him all the good lines.
...edieval times. Moslems leaders claim that the title of the novel The Satanic Verses disrespected their god, because it refers to their god as Satan. Even though Rushdie was raised as a Moslem, and claims he follows no religion, the Khomeini mentions that Rushdie rejected the words of his former religion, therefore, joined the enemies of Islam, and committed a crime.(Phillips 18) In the Islam tradition, the Koran is factually the word of God, transmitted by the Archangel Gabriel through the Prophet Mohammed. The result of Rushdie's novel is viewed as mocking wordplay.(Phillips 19) Socrates gained enemies for his speculations on philosophy. Socrates had young rich men followers who viewed him as an inspiring leader, therefore, was also blamed for teaching the youth his ideas. Both Salman Rushdie and Socrates were held responsible for religious insult. (Plato 20 - 24)