February 14, 1989: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, supreme leader of Iran, issues a fatwa, a death sentence under Islamic law, against novelist Salman Rushdie.
Ahmed Salman Rushdie was born on June 19, 1947 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. His father was a lawyer, educated at England's Cambridge University. He was inspired to become a writer by reading The Wizard of Oz. Although India gained independence 2 months after his birth, he retained his British citizenship, and he claimed to be "obsessed with P.G. Wodehouse and Agatha Christie." He also became fascinated by fantasy, especially J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books; and science fiction, Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke.
But, given what he wrote later, the author that may have had the most effect on him was Kurt Vonnegut. Absurdist novels like Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five inspired his debut novel, Grimus, in 1975; and Midnight's Children, in 1981. Midnight's Children won the Booker Prize, awarded annually to "the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, which was published in the United Kingdom or Ireland."
In 1988, Rushdie published The Satanic Verses. The title refers to a group of Quarnic verses about three pagan (pre-Islamic) Meccan goddesses: The sisters Al-Lat, goddess of war, peace, combat, and prosperity; Al-Uzza, goddess of might and protection; and Manāt, Goddess of fate, fortune, time, death, and destiny.
The main story involves 2 actors, Indians raised as Muslims but now living in Britain, much like Rushdie himself (except he wasn't an actor). The book takes on a fantasy element, a weird one that I won't get into here, but Rushdie used this framing to describe the Indian and Muslim experiences in Britain.
The book's straying from reality wasn't enough for Islamic fundamentalists, and the Ayatollah issued his fatwa. A little more than 3 months later, it was not Rushdie, but Khomeini, who was dead -- although being 89 years old had something to do with that. Today, Rushdie is still alive.
In 1991, Ettore Capirolo, Rushdie's Italian translator, was stabbed at his home in Milan, though he survived. Ten days later, Hitoshi Igarashi, Rushdie's Japanese translator, was stabbed to death in his office at the University of Tsukuba. In 1993, 37 people died when arsonists set fire to a hotel in Siva, Turkey, where Aziz Nesin, Rushdie's Turkish translator, was staying. He survived. Four months later, William Nygaard, Rushdie's Norwegian publisher, was shot, and needed months of recovery.
In March 2016, the bounty for the Rushdie fatwa was raised to $3 million.
Rushdie was a fan of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, of North London. This was not the reason for the fatwa. It is, however, a good reason to go into hiding. (I'm a fan of Spurs' North London arch-rivals, Arsenal.)
In 2007, Rushdie was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, for "services to literature." To most of the world, he is a hero of the fight for freedom of speech.
UPDATE: On August 12, 2022, Rushdie faced his closest call yet. He was attacked onstage while speaking at an event of the Chautauqua Institution, in Chautauqua, in the southwestern corner of New York State.
He was flown by medivac helicopter to a hospital in nearby Erie, Pennsylvania. Rushdie had 14 separate wounds. He lost the use of his right eye, lost function in his left hand, and sustained liver damage. He was 75 years old.
And yet, the doctors were able to save his life. One told him he was very lucky that the guy who attacked him didn’t know how to kill a person with a knife. He described himself as "a medical miracle," and wrote a book about the Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.
He said the book was about 3 people: Himself; the assailant, who represented Death; and his wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, an African-American visual artist, who represented Love. He said, "Love wins." (He had been married 4 times before, including to Indian television personality Padma Lakshmi, and has a son with his 1st wife and a son with his 3rd.)
He did not mention the assailant's name. His was Hadi Matar, 24, from Fairview, Bergen County, New Jersey. He was convicted in 2025, and faces up to 25 years in prison. The Iranian government denied any involvement in the attack, but Iranian media celebrated it.
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February 14, 1989 was a Tuesday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 11 games in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 129-117 at the Charlotte Coliseum.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 132-91 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat, 109-98 at the Miami Arena.
* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 117-98 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Boston Celtics, 137-123 at The Summit in Houston. When the Rockets moved to the Toyota Center in 2003, televangelist Joel Osteen bought The Summit, and converted it into the Central Campus of his Lakewood Church. It must bother him that he will never be as popular in that building as a black Muslim immigrant named Hakeem Olajuwon, who, on this night, scored 35 points and grabbed 19 rebounds for the Rockets.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers, 113-108 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls, 106-98 at the Chicago Stadium. Dominique Wilkins, "the Human Highlight Film," scored 36 points for the Hawks.
* The Utah Jazz beat their arch-rivals, the Denver Nuggets, 119-105 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 111-103 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. James Worthy scored 33 points. This was a rematch of the previous season's NBA Finals, won by the Lakers. It turned out to be a preview of this season's Finals, won by the Pistons.
* The Washington Bullets beat the Sacramento Kings, 107-99 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the San Antonio Spurs, 129-113 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
And there were 6 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The New York Islanders beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 7-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
* The Washington Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-3 at the St. Louis Arena.
* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
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