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- hi WORLD, Page 66World NotesISLAMNo Mercy for Rushdie
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- He lives under constant police protection, moving from one
- secret address to another. His isolation is only rarely broken
- by much more than telephone calls and furtive visits by family
- and friends. Salman Rushdie feels he had no choice but to hide
- since the day in February 1989 when Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini
- condemned him to death for his novel The Satanic Verses. The
- Indian-born writer maintains that he never intended to offend
- followers of the Muslim faith; last week he went a step further
- toward atonement -- and perhaps an end to his exile -- by
- announcing that he is embracing Islam and will not support an
- English-language paperback printing or further translations of
- the book.
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- Rushdie's reaffirmation of his faith came after he held a
- secret meeting with Islamic scholars. But there was no sign of
- mercy from Iran's current spiritual leader, Ayatullah Ali
- Khamenei. He responded to Rushdie's semi-apology by saying the
- death sentence issued by the late Ayatullah Khomeini is
- irreversible.
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