Interview med Salman Rushdie

Men vi starter lige med historien om et mordforsøg på Salman Rushdie. Iranerne igen:

Echoes of Iran

Stewart Bell | Oct 15, 2011

Mansour Ahani said he was fleeing religious and political persecution in Iran when he arrived at Vancouver airport from Singapore in October 1991.

“I am dead if I return,” he wrote in his refugee claim.

But after spending months following Ahani, Canadian intelligence officers came to a startling conclusion: He was a highly trained Iranian government assassin whose handlers were planning an attack on the British author Salman Rushdie.

Mere HER i The National Post.

Interview / Salman Rushdie is not afraid

He thinks ‘Game of Thrones’ is dumb, bemoans the lack of good modern novels and believes terrorism is dying out; over 20 years after fleeing for his life from an Iranian-issued fatwa, novelist Salman Rushdie is still unafraid to speak his mind.

By Gidi Weitz – October 14, 2011

New York. One fine evening a few weeks ago, the writer Salman Rushdie walked, unattended by bodyguards, to the site of the 9/11 memorial. “It was very strange to walk into that space after ten years,” the 64-year-old recalls as we sit in the offices of the Wiley literary agency in the center of New York. “I remember post-9/11, many journalists from all over saying to me, ‘Ah, now we understand what happened to you.’ And I responded, ‘Really? That’s what it took for you to take note?!’ But in some way that was the moment at which these things, like the attack on ‘The Satanic Verses’ or the persecution of other people in different places, suddenly became a big thing.”

Mere HER hos Haaretz. Se eventuelt også denne i Global Toronto:

• Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman among authors supporting Occupy Wall Street

Eller denne i Pajamas Media:

• Every Week Is Banned Books Week in Iran

Andre kilder: Foreign Policy,

Opdatering 22. oktober 2011 – endnu et interview;

A Conversation With: Salman Rushdie

By Shivani Vora – October 20, 2011

The author, who was a guest at the Pierre’s recent Diwali party, agreed to answer a few questions before the event about his connection to Mumbai, his time on Twitter and the state of Indian fiction today.

Q.You’ve agreed to read an excerpt of a new book about the history of the Taj hotel in Mumbai. What connection do you have to the hotel?

A.I’m a Bombay boy, so my connection to the Taj is life long. I went there as a boy with my parents, and as an adult I’ve taken my own family to stay there a number of times, and in general have always made a beeline for it when in Bombay.

Mere HER i The New York Times.

Video: Salman Rushdie hos C-Span

Denne video er fra C-SPAN | BookTV den 5. december 2010 og man skal ind til C-Span for at se den:

In Depth with Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie talked about his life, career, and work. The Indian-born author knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2007 is perhaps best known for his novel The Satanic Verses. He discussed his less publicized non-fiction works, including The Jaguar Smile, his first-hand account of the government of Nicaragua after its civil war, and Imaginary Homelands, a book of critical political essays and reviews. He responded to telephone calls and electronic communications. Salman Rushdie is author of four non-fiction works: The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey (1987), Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism, 1981–1991 (1992), The Wizard of Oz (1992), and Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992 – 2002 (2002). He is also author of a collection of short stories, titled East, West (1994) and eleven novels, including: Grimus (1975), Midnight’s Children (1981), The Satanic Verses (1988), Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990), The Moor’s Last Sigh (1995), and Luka and the Fire of Life (2010).

Man skal  ind til C-Span for at se video – klik HER. Varighed 3 timer og 4 minutter.

Video & audio: Salman Rushdie om muhammedkrisen

Jeg skal lige dyrke mit Rushdie-flip nu igen. Det første interview herunder handler bla. om muhammedkrisen. Fra TVO – The Agenda med Steve Paikin den 29. november 2010:

Salman Rushdie: On Storytelling

A feature interview with author Salman Rushdie. Literature plays an important role in providing insight into society. What can authors like Rushdie do to mend some of the divisions within Islam, and help non-Muslims better understand the faith?

Og en audio fra Free Library of Philadelphia den 23. november 2010. Undervejs læser Rushdie en masse højt fra den nye bog. Audioen minder meget om de videoer, jeg postede i går:

Salman Rushdie | Luka and the Fire of Life: A Novel

Salman Rushdie’s acclaimed novels are known for their witty examinations of an ever-changing sociopolitical landscape. He is the author of 10 books, including Midnight’s Children–winner of the Booker Prize in 1981 and the “Booker of Bookers” Prize in 1993, Shalimar the Clown, The Satanic Verses, and The Enchantress of Florence, which was named one of the Best Books of 2008 by the Washington Post. Luka and the Fire of Life, Rushdie’s fantastical new novel, chronicles the journey of 12-year-old Luka as he navigates a world of magic in order to rescue his father from a deep and potentially permanent sleep. Meelya Gordon Memorial Lecture

Åbner Windows Media Player HER. Varighed 1 time.

Audio: Interview med Salman Rushdie – portræt

Fra Whyy Radio - Salman Rushdie læser endnu engang lidt fra sin nye bog, der både er for børn og voksne. Man hører også om eventyr-traditioner i andre lande, Salman Rushdies opvækst, De Sataniske Vers, Cat Stevens, Ground Zero moskeen, livet som forfatter og mere. Udsendelsen er næsten et helt portræt af den verdensberømte kunstner:

Salman Rushdie writes a childhood fable

November 23rd, 2010

The Booker Prize – winning writer Salman Rushdie returns to Radio Times to discuss the new fable he has written for his youngest son, “Luka and the Fire of Life.” Rushdie, author of over ten novels, non-fiction works and short stories is known best for “Midnight’s Children” and the controversial 1988 novel, “Satanic Verses,” that inspired world-wide riots and a fatwa issued upon him by the Iranian leader at the time, Ayatollah Khomeini.

Programmet startes HER – åbner Windows Media Player. Varighed knap 52 minutter.

Desuden lidt om baggrunden for Salman Rushdies nye bog:

Rushdie returns to past

Two decades ago, Salman Rushdie wrote “Haroun and the Sea of Stories’’ for his son Zafar, who was 11. Years later, his younger son, Milan, read “Haroun’’ for the first time and clamored for a book of his own.

“He pointed out the injustice of the situation with increasing vehemence,’’ said Rushdie.

Luckily for Milan, his father had been planning a return to “Haroun’’ all along.

“It had always been in my mind to try to do a second one, and this kind of prompted me to do it,’’ he said.

Rushdie finished his latest book, “Luka and the Fire of Life,’’ in time for Milan’s 12th birthday. While it focuses on the family Rushdie introduced in the earlier novel — his young hero, Luka, is Haroun’s brother — he said he tried to write a sequel that could stand on its own.

“I wanted to create a new, imaginative world and a new reason for going there,’’ Rushdie said.

This time around, the precocious protagonist must save his ailing father by retrieving the fire of life, a plot device that Rushdie said has deep roots in mythology.

Citatet stammer fra The Boston Globe.

Opdatering den 25. november 2010: Der er endnu et lille radiointerview på 8 minutter her hos PRI Public Radio Channel, hvor man også kan læse en artikel om Rusdie og den nye bog.

Opdatering den 28. november 2010: Endnu et interview – denne gang fra The Wall Street Journal:

Salman Rushdie and His Mythic Legacy

By Vibhuti Patel – November 27, 2010

Sir Salman Rushdie wrote his latest book, “Luka and the Fire of Life,” for his 13-year-old son, Milan. It is a companion to his 1990 novel “Haroun and the Sea of Stories,” which he wrote for his other son, Zafar, 31, while under Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwa. Both are personal fables dealing with serious issues—”Haroun” with the silencing of writers, “Luka” with a father’s mortality—and both showcase Mr. Rushdie’s verbal pyrotechnics, wit, erudition and skill for spinning a yarn, appealing equally to young adults and older readers. The 63-year-old author spoke with the Journal recently about his work, father-son relationships, and calling New York home.

How did “Haroun” and “Luka” come about?

The first motivation was my children demanding books. When I was writing “The Satanic Verses,” Zafar, then 8, said, “Why don’t you write books that I can read?” After the fatwa, I wanted to write about it as a way of understanding what happened. I write books I’d enjoy reading, I’m the reader standing behind my shoulder. [...]

Mere HER i Wall Street Journal.

Opdatering 12. juni 2011 – sætter lige denne video ind her, – et eller andet sted skal den jo være Time Magazine’s læsere har stillet 10 spørgsmål – fra november 2010:

TIME 10 Questions • Salman Rushdie

Andre kilder: Time Magazine,

Lee Smith om Cat Stevens, Jon Stewart & Salman Rushdie

Anti-Anti-Islamism

By Lee Smith – November 13, 2010

When Cat Stevens was introduced at Jon Stewart’s recent “Rally to Restore Sanity,” the musician also known by his Muslim name Yusuf Islam was greeted with warm applause and howls of approval. It was a strange reception coming from a culturally savvy, mostly twentysomething audience, for while Stevens’s songs are a staple in the 1970s schlock-folk canon, he is best known these days for having supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s 1989 fatwa demanding the execution of novelist Salman Rushdie.

Stevens has tried to whitewash his record over the years, without ever acknowledging or apologizing for his comments, including his response to a British interviewer’s question as to whether he would attend a demonstration to burn an effigy of the writer; Stevens answered glibly that he “hoped that it’d be the real thing.”

“I don’t know why no one in that crowd booed Stevens, or heckled him when he was introduced,” says the British author Nick Cohen, who was in contact with Rushdie after the rally. “Rushdie phoned Stewart, who said he was sorry if it upset him, but it was clear Stewart didn’t really care.”

Mere HER i The Weekly Standard eller her hos Hudson Institute.

Nick Cohen med nyt om Jon Steward & Cat Stevens

Det bliver værre og værre. Jon Stewart er åbenbart ligeglad med, at nogle mennesker vil myrde Salman Rushdie:

Rushdie on Jon Stewart

In my previous post about Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam I quoted Salman Rushdie’s surprise that Jon Stewart had given a starring role at his “Rally for Sanity” to a crooner who had previously opined that Rushdie deserved to die for deciding of his own free will to abandon Islam and criticise its texts.

Salman has messaged me again and says,

“I spoke to Jon Stewart about Yusuf Islam’s appearance. He said he was sorry it upset me, but really, it was plain that he was fine with it. Depressing.”

Mere hos Standpoint Magazine HER. Tidligere blogget om samme sag:

• Video: Salman Rushdie om Cat Stevens

Mark Steyn støtter Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

To nye interview med Mark Steyn – begge er kun et par dage gamle:

Mark Steyn speaks on Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff

Mark Steyn spoke at a dinner tribute to Ezra Levant in Ottawa Oct. 30 2010. James Cohen, formerly of the International Free Press Society, spoke with Mr. Steyn about Ms. Wolff’s situation in Austria. Many thanks to www.kitmantv.blogspot.com for help with the audio

Via Vlad Tepes blog.

Desuden dette interview:

Roy Green interviews Mark Steyn

Talk show host Roy Green interviews Mark Steyn on his banning at the London Convention Centre, censorship, free speech, the perversion of “human rights,” and the 2010 American Mid-Term Elections.

Via Atlas Shrugs.

Video: Salman Rushdie om Cat Stevens

Det lader til at Nick Cohen fra Standpoint Magazine har været i kontakt med Salman Rushdie, efter at Yusuf Islam alias Cat Stevens har optrådt på et demokratisk “Rally” i USA:

Just had this message from Rushdie: “I’ve always liked Stewart and Colbert but what on earth was Cat Yusuf Stevens Islam doing on that stage? If he’s a “good Muslim” like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar then I’m the Great Pumpkin. Happy Halloween.”

Talkshowværten Jon Stewart har lavet et ”Rally for Sanity” eller “Rally to Restore Sanity” sammen med en anden talkshowvært, Stephen Colbert. Der er en løbende krig mellem konservative i Tea Party-bevægelsen og demokraterne. Der er jo snart valg i USA og kæmpe-møder er et af kampmidlerne.

Cat Stevens går tilsyneladende ind for mord på Salman Rusdie, fordi han er en frafalden, som ikke længere tror på islam. Mange journalister har forsøgt at få Cat Stevens til at tage afstand fra stening, henrettelser og andre af sharialovens grusomheder, men det ser ikke ud til at være lykkedes.

Yusuf Islam sang sin egen “Peace Train”. Fred for nogen, men ikke for alle? Lyder unægteligt meget islamisk.

På en eller anden led er det typisk, at venstrefløjen udstiller sin hovedløse naivisme på denne måde. Fornuft blev ikke genoprettet ved dette møde. Så meget kan man da slå helt fast.

Den lille artikel HER i Standpoint Magazine kan anbefales.

Opdatering den 2. november 2010 fra Pajamas Media hvor Roger L. Simon skriver:

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert: Are They Pro-Islamofascist or Just Stupid?

October 30, 2010 – by Roger L Simon

Much of the blogosphere is appalled, as well it should be, at the selection of Yusuf Islam — né Cat Stevens — to perform at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s now absurdly named “Rally to Restore Sanity.” As the world well knows, Islam/Stevens is the man who endorsed the fatwa on Salman Rushdie and on more than one occasion said he wished he could carry it out and murder Rushdie himself.

And if that isn’t enough — and it should be — Islam is a misogynist who won’t talk to women. (Take another listen to the paternalistic “Wild World” if you want to hear the psychological roots of his profound “religious” belief.)

Mere HER hos Pajamas Media. Desuden videodokumentation. Dels Cat Stevens nylige optræden på omtalte rally og dels hans ord om Salman Rushdie – tilsyneladende fra 1989:

Cat Stevens nægtede at tale med arrangørerne ved en prisoverrækkelse

Årsag: de bar ikke slør! Helt absurd skulle Cat Stevens – eller Yusuf Islam, som han kalder sig nu, modtage en specialpris for at bygge broer mellem Østens og Vestens kulturer. Hvordan kan man bygge bro, når man ikke vil tale med folk?

Echo Awards har tildelt sangeren og komponisten prisen for dennes kunstneriske, sociale og politiske arbejde.  

Da værterne bød Yusuf Islam og hans tilslørede kone velkommen til arrangementet og fortalte ham, at de var hans kontaktpersoner, ignorerede han dem og ville ikke tale til dem. De var jo kvinder. Hvor fornærmeligt! Hans manager forklarede, at Islam helst kun taler med kvinder via en mellemmand:

Islam’s manager explains, “Mr Islam doesn’t speak with women except his wife. Least of all if they don’t wear a headscarf. Things like that only happen via an intermediary.”

Hard Headed Woman:

Kilde: contactmusic

Opdatering 28. april 2007: Ny artikel om Cat Stevens i MSNBC. Jeg orker ham ikke lige nu, så den bliver ikke blogget.

Opdatering den 3. juli fra PR Newswire: Yusuf Islams manager Marc Marot benægter historien og siger, at sangeren ikke nægter at tale med kvinder.

Opdatering den 8. juli: helt ny indspilning af Peace Train.

Videoen starter HER. Link til mindre artikel om Yusuf Islam i bladet, Female First HER.

Pris til Cat Stevens, der synes Salman Rusdie skal myrdes

Hvad blev der af Peace Train-tanken? Nåh jo. Fredens religion går jo ind for dødsstraf. Behead those who say islam is violent. Sådan ser Allahs fredsbegreb ud. Ikke at forveksle med vold. Det ville jo være fornærmeligt. Og Cat Stevens er en sand fredens mand. Han synes, Salman Rusdie skal myrdes. Eller Yusuf Islam som han kalder sig nu. Så derfor er han da selvskreven til en meget fin fredspris, ikke?

Jeg ved ikke hvorfor, den skal forestille at være så fin. Ganske vist har kong Juan Carlos I af Spanien modtaget den for et par år siden, med det har den tyrkiske premierminister, Recep Tayyp Erdogan også. I ved – ham der vil have et forbud imod kritik af religioner gennemtrumfet i både EU og FN. Men det er nok her, vi skal søge svaret.

Prisen uddeles nemlig af “Fondazione Mediterraneo” i samarbejde med ”Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation For Dialogue Between Cultures”. Det er organisationer, der arbejder aktivt for at afvikle politisk ukorrekte fænomener så som vestlige værdier, kristendom, ytringsfrihed mm. og fremme arabisk indvandring og implementering af islam i Europa. Derfor modtager begge institutioner da også massive mængder af støttekroner fra EU.

Det eneste parti herhjemme, der tager afstand fra den dagsorden, er tilsyneladende Dansk Folkeparti. De har i den forgangne uge udsendt en pressemeddelelse om det: DF til regeringen: Drop det euromediterrane samarbejde

Den pressemeddelelse har den politisk korrekte del af pressen ikke gjort meget ud af. Men det siger vel sig selv.

Ja, det var sådan set det. Hjerteligt tillykke med den fine pris til Yusuf Islam. Her er en kort biografi om fredens mand og nedenfor er Peace Train på video. Jeg holder ikke ud at skrive mere om den sag. Så bliver jeg dårligt tilpas. Jeg har fundet en post fra i dag på Uriasposten, hvor der står en interessant omtale om samme sag. Anbefales. Link til tidligere post her på Veritas Universalis om Cat Stevens med flere videoer.

YUSUF ISLAM HONOURED WITH PEACE PRIZE

YUSUF ISLAM, the artist formerly known as CAT STEVENS, is to be honoured with the Mediterranean Prize for Peace later today (04JAN07) in Naples, Italy. The MORNING HAS BROKEN singer, who quit pop music when he became a Muslim convert in the 1970s, is being awarded the prestigious accolade for the work he has done to promote peace in the world.

Yusuf marked his musical comeback last year (06) by releasing his first contemporary album for almost 30 years, AN OTHER CUP. The Mediterranean Prize is assigned each year to personalities from the worlds of politics, culture and art who have, through their actions and contributions, helped reduce tensions and spread peace alongside shared values throughout the Mediterranean.

Kilde: Contactmusic.com

Video: Peace Train

Lidt link til mere om Cat Stevens. (Der er 7 link – et under hvert ord)

I fredens tjeneste: Cat Stevens alias Yusuf Islam vil ikke tage afstand fra Hamas

YumaSun.com er en amerikansk avis fra Arizona, hvori professor Tibor Machan har analyseret et interview med Cat Stevens, der ellers skulle være et eksempel på en moderat muslim i Vesten. Han kalder sig nu Yusuf Islam eftersom han konverterede og nu er muslim. I avisen står der bla:

Hamas er en terroristgruppe. Ingen fornuftige tvivl om det. Hvis Islam (Cat Stevens) ikke kan få sig selv til at erkende og fordømme dette, er hans værdier indiskutabelt perverse.  Og hvis han er vores bedste eksempel på en moderat muslim i Vesten, ja så er vi nødt til at være meget mere vagtsomme overfor faren fra islamisk indflydelse end de fleste mennesker har gjort sig klart.

I interviewet blev Yusuf Islam presset flere gange til at tage afstand, men det ville han ikke, idet der var tale om en kontroversielt emne. Det undrer forfatteren sig over:

Imagine a Roman Catholic who tried to whitewash the child molestation that has been perpetrated by many priests recently or who said he wouldn’t say anything on the issue of the Holy Inquisition, claiming that it is a very contentious issue.

Helt absurd bliver det, når en presset Cat Stevens i interviewet siger – som en reaktion på spørgsmålet om hvorvidt han tager afstand eller ej:

“I wouldn’t put those words in my mouth. I wouldn’t say anything on that issue. I’m here to talk about peace. I’m a man who does want peace for this world, and I don’t think you will achieve that by putting people into corners and asking them very, very difficult questions about contentious issues.”

Jamen, sikke da en fredens mand. Ikke mærkeligt, at artiklen kalder ham et skræmmende eksempel på en moderat muslim. Sagen er nemlig den, at Yusuf Islam flere gange er blevet sat i forbindelse med terrorgrupper. Bla. med lige præcis Hamas…

Det oprindelige interview blev bragt i The New York Times Magazine og kan læses her, men kun imod betaling til avisen.

Proselytten Yusuf Islam fra fredens religion synger:

A is for Allah

I look, I see