اية محمود Aya Mahmoud
asked:
when a novel is controversial enough to cause deaths and death threats I start doubting the author's talent, so could someone answer me honestly and impartially, is this controversial novel actually a good piece of fiction or is it just going to anger me as a Muslim is I tried to read it and add nothing good?
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The Satanic Verses,
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Darran Summerfield
Getting angry at a work of fiction says more about the reader than it does about the fiction
Isobel Obrecht
I cannot say for sure as I do not know you, though I live in an incredibly politically correct city, and I did not find it offensive. It does not insult Islam or religion, but rather explores human interpretation of faith, and dares to suggest that the world is not simply made of Good and Evil, but rather a blend of the two. I think that it is a good piece of fiction because I enjoy: witty humor, interesting language, engaging plot, and surrealism. If this isn't your thing (not everyone enjoys the same type of books) then you might not like it personally, but I think you would still be able to acknowledge the undeniable skill the author possesses.
Martine Liponoga
Aya Mahmoud - did you read it in the end?? I've just finished and absolutely loved it. It took ages! 3 weeks! In case you haven't read it, I'd say it's really heavy going in terms of the prose, but it was honestly one of the best things I've ever read, just from the use of language point of view. Total wordsmith. As a near athiest, I genuinely couldn't see what was offensive about it. So I looked it up, and I understand what people are saying, but it still seems utterly disproportionate to me. So I'd be interested to hear if it did anger you as a Muslim. Either way, if you gave it a go, I hope you enjoyed the language!
ab
TRUTH IS ALWAYS BITTER ..the DEATH THREATS against the person who CRITICIZED his RELIGION ... PROVES HIS POINT ....In fact its the BIGGEST PROOF OF THE AUTHETICITY OF HIS BOOK
Anthony
Surely this is a dreadful thing to say or think. This says a lot more about the people making the death threats? They weren't just threats btw.
Bob Marshall
No it is not a good piece of fiction, but it includes a few good pieces of writing. Taken as a whole it is not blasphemous. The discussion of the truth of the Quran occurs in chapter II and chapter VI but they are written in the context of a dream and Salman (the scribe of the Quran who becomes an apostate) eventually returns to accept the truth.
Chapters II and VI are well written. Most of the rest of the book makes little sense but I did like chapter IX where Saladin is reconciled with his father.
Chapters II and VI are well written. Most of the rest of the book makes little sense but I did like chapter IX where Saladin is reconciled with his father.
Francesco Castellani
I wonder how one can find this insulting to Islam, when all Rushdie is doing is referencing an incident, that of the Satanic Verses, which is well known among Islamic scholars (see al-Wāqidī, Ibn Sa'd and the tafsir of al-Tabarī.) It used to even be accepted in Islam, until someone came along and revisited the interpretation, saying that it was no longer convenient to accept it as a fact. This sounds like manipulation to me, and if one has to be angry, one has to be angry at the manipulator, not at someone who built a piece of fiction around an incident that is well documented in Islamic history.
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