Rushdie can teach us a lot about free speech
‘‘ Anyone who has to resort to intimidation doesn’t have the power of their own convictions
As Scotland’s new hate crime laws bring free speech into the spotlight, it seems that the Book Festival has made a very pertinent choice by inviting author Salman Rushdie to speak this year.
He represents everything meaningful about the importance of free speech and has faced attempted murder in his determination to pursue it.
In 1989, Iran's former ruler Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous.
The Iranian government withdrew support for the death sentence in 1998, however that didn't prevent an attack on Rushdie's life in 2022 during a literary event in New York. He suffered severe, lifechanging injuries including losing the sight in one eye following the knife attack, which occurred ahead of him delivering a lecture, rather ironically about the United States being a safe haven for exiled writers, at the Chautauqua Institution.
There can be few people with the courage to put their life on the line to stand up for their beliefs.
Mr Rushdie recently told the BBC: “A lot of people, including a lot of young people, I'm sorry to say, have formed the opinion that restrictions on freedom of speech are often a good idea.
“Whereas of course, the whole point of freedom of speech is that you have to permit speech you don't agree with.”
There is sometimes, of course, a fine line between having an opinion and being hateful. But anyone who has to bully or threaten someone into submitting to their point of view hasn't really won. Debate is a powerful thing when used properly. Changing someone’s mind through words and intelligent discussion is not only enlightening, but much more permanent than coercion.
I suspect that anyone who has to resort to intimidation doesn’t have the power of their own convictions.
Salman Rushdie can teach us a lot, and the book festival will be all the richer for his involvement.