Salman Rushdie: Violent Mutations of Islam Are Still Islam | Big Think

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is one thing not to discriminate against people, says Salman Rushdie, i.e. peaceful practitioners of Islam, but to foreclose an open debate over the merits of religion is a mistake.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SALMAN RUSHDIE:
Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian novelist and writer, author of ten novels including Midnight’s Children (Booker Prize, 1981), Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, and The Golden House. The publication of his fourth novel "The Satanic Verses" in 1988 led to violent protests in the Muslim world for its depiction of the prophet Mohammad. The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a death fatwa against Rushdie, which sent him into hiding for nearly a decade. Rushdie weathered countless death threats and many assassination attempts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:
Salman Rushdie: I think there’s something very worried happening as it were on the left, you know. It used to be that it was the conservatives both in America and Europe who used to criticize people for criticizing religion, you know, that used to be a right wing politic. Now it’s become a left wing politic that somehow – and I think the argument goes that mostly groups in America and Western Europe are often economically disadvantaged and suffer from various kinds of prejudice and racism and have difficult lives and therefore to criticize the religion is to further attack them and that shouldn’t be done. And I mean that’s as best as I can put that argument and I think that was the argument in that Affleck issue. And I think it was the argument in the division within PEN American Center about honoring Charlie Hebdo and it crops up over and over again. I mean it happened just to a certain extent when the trouble was surrounding me. But actually less so than in those days the argument was – the criticisms were still mostly from the right, from people like, you know, the Cardinal of New York or the chief rabbi of Great Britain or the Pope, you know. All of whom found it perfectly possible to sympathize with Islamic religious leaders about me.

So and that taught me something interesting about the unity of the God Squad, you know. Now it seems that this liberal spirit of appeasement of political correctness is a new problem. Because of course it’s obviously quite right to say that communities that are discriminated against and oppressed and economically disadvantaged need to have those issues looked at, you know, and we need to try to deal with those issues. That’s not the same thing as saying you can’t criticize ideas they seem to hold. If you can’t ring fence ideas. It’s one thing to say people must not be discriminated against but to say that ideas become illegitimate or legitimate because they’re held by disadvantaged people is – it’s just a flaw. It’s very important to remember that when free expression is diminished or restricted it’s usually minority groups that suffer first. It’s their free expression that is restricted before the majorities.

So it’s always in the interest of minority communities to defend free expression because their own rights are involved. And if by doing that they have to put up with a certain amount of criticism of their own ideas then that just goes with the territory. And it’s very worrying to see well-meaning people, people who are coming from a good place, joining in with the world of censorship and therefore ending up in a very bad place. I think it’s perfectly legitimate to be highly critical of religion in general and in particular right now the use is being made of the Islamic religion because of, I mean, what’s happening in the world, you know. I think to say that that’s not to do with Islam is just a logical impossibility. Of course it is. If everybody engaged in acts of Islamic terrorism says that they’re doing it in the name of Islam who are we to say they’re not. I mean now of course what they mean by Islam might well not be what most Muslims mean by Islam. But it’s still a form of Islam and it’s a form of Islam that’s become unbelievably powerful in the last 25 and 30 years.

A form of Islam that if that oppresses and kills Muslims more than anyone else. That’s to say most of the Muslim deaths in the world right now are not caused by American drones. They’re caused by Islamic attacks on Muslims of another type, you know.....

[XenogeneGray]

Islam is not a race; people of all races can choose to be Muslim or not. Islam is a religion and thus an ideology, and ALL ideologies should be subject to scrutiny and potential criticism.

[IndigoChildism]

You know a guy has a point when you try to murder him and he can still come up with a calm, cogent argument against you.

[HGShurtugal]

I wouldn't say they are mutations they are what Islam is.

[merinsan]

If Salman Rushdie had writen his book today, SJWs would be protesting him.
Completely agree with everything he says here.

[CityHusky]

Right on. Why would anyone dislike this?

[shreenandandas]

I am from India, Salman Rushdie hails from my country and it's my country's misfortune that we couldn't hold on to a majestic writer like Salman Rushdie. The then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, banned Rushdie's book 'The Satanic Verses', cuz it apparently hurt Muslims, for speaking the truth in a fictional way, Ayotallah Khomeini went upto the extent of issuing a fatwah to kill Rushdie, what Salman talks in this video is about addressing that form of Islam, which exists and is ever powerfully growing.

[halaambe]

i live in an islamic country and i have left islam (secretly due to fear for my life). i want donald trump to win the american presidency only for this reason that i know what islam really is.... and he calls it like it is. even if we have to suffer it will be really bad for this earth and human progress if all corners of the earth fall under the influence of islam. that is just my opinion for now.

[cufflink]

Watching this video in August 2022 is particularly poignant. Get well, Salman. May you live many more productive years and continue to inspire us.

[ixlnxs]

The worst thing religion does is keep its own believers down. It keeps them from studying, from working, from making any progress.

[HumanLiberty]

I love Salman Rushdie, but he’s got it twisted. It is not the violent radical Islam that is the mutation, it is the peaceful moderate kind. Islam‘s books are nothing but the violent and radical kind and are very clear about their position.

[Username]

I can't remember the last time Big Think wasn't spewing horse shit. This is an encouraging return to form. This guy is on point.

[fatimasaid]

He’s right about this! I’m left leaning but I agree that freedom of expression should take priority over causing offence because it affects us more than the wider population.

[vladi]

It is no a mutation in islam, it is only islam. The religion of peace, aka rest in peace.

[jazzsaz]

As a muslim, I support his point of view. Muslims need to understand that every religion can be criticized, and violent interpretations of Islam are still “Islam”; something needs to be done on this front.

[cultureclique]

Its people like this man who makes this world a great one!

[fitnessbusinesssuccess]

Wow an HONEST and THOUGHTFUL Big Think video????

Crazy!

[nyxawesome]

Rushdie did nothing wrong... We are all with you Rushdie!!

[mbrea]

overall, a good point. but its not a "mutation". its simply a straight-foward or literal interpretation. in other words, osama bin larden's take on Islam is totally plausable, and "dying in defence of the faith" and jihad are some of the most central messages of the qu'ran. the "good" or "moderate" muslims simply cherry pick their docterines

[sleeexs]

Its not a violent mutation but original form

[leginaire]

Speaking out against political correctness. awesome jobs should be done more often.