Islamic uproar over his book

SALMAN Rushdie’s fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, sparked controversy in 1988.

While it was mainly praised in the West, Muslim-majority countries banned it.

Inspired in part by the life of the Prophet Muhammad, it has many references to Islam – and Rushdie was accused of blasphemy.

In 1989, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of the author.