[26] However, the author has refuted the idea of having written any of his characters as autobiographical, stating, "People assume that because certain things in the character are drawn from your own experience, it just becomes you. [21] It was while he was at Ogilvy that he wrote Midnight's Children, before becoming a full-time writer. However, the narrator reveals to the reader that these disputed verses were actually from the mouth of the Archangel Gabriel. According to this tradition, Muhammad (Mahound in the book) added verses (Ayah) to the Qur'an accepting three goddesses who used to be worshipped in Mecca as divine beings. Rushdie called for a reform in Islam[112] in a guest opinion piece printed in The Washington Post and The Times in mid-August 2005: What is needed is a move beyond tradition, nothing less than a reform movement to bring the core concepts of Islam into the modern age, a Muslim Reformation to combat not only the jihadist ideologues but also the dusty, stifling seminaries of the traditionalists, throwing open the windows to let in much-needed fresh air.… It is high time, for starters, that Muslims were able to study the revelation of their religion as an event inside history, not supernaturally above it.… Broad-mindedness is related to tolerance; open-mindedness is the sibling of peace. [22][23][24], Rushdie's first novel, Grimus (1975), a part-science fiction tale, was generally ignored by the public and literary critics. The Next People is being made by the British film production company Working Title, the firm behind such projects as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Shaun of the Dead.[51]. In 2012, Salman Rushdie became one of the first major authors to embrace Booktrack (a company that synchronises ebooks with customised soundtracks), when he published his short story "In the South" on the platform.[30]. And through that argument you change your mind sometimes.… And that's how societies grow. A new Reformation will bring your faith into the modern era", "Salman Rushdie – Secular Values, Human Rights and Islamism", "Salman Rushdie Responds To Charlie Hebdo Attack, Says Religion Must Be Subject To Satire", "The Art of Bravery: An Interview with Salman Rushdie", "15 Male Celebrities Answer 'Are You a Feminist?' "[103] In response to his knighthood, many nations with Muslim majorities protested. Some non-Muslims expressed disappointment at Rushdie's knighthood, claiming that the writer did not merit such an honour and there were several other writers who deserved the knighthood more than Rushdie. [66], Rushdie has reported that he still receives a "sort of Valentine's card" from Iran each year on 14 February letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to kill him and has jokingly referred it as "my unfunny Valentine"[67] in a reference to the song "My Funny Valentine". Salman Rushdie has written 14 novels. In 2017, Rushdie appeared as himself in Episode 3 of Season 9 of Curb Your Enthusiasm,[52] sharing scenes with Larry David[53] to offer advice on how Larry should deal with the fatwa that has been ordered against him. His latest book, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights, sweeps the reader into a turbulent, magical, mythological world. [15] He left her in the mid-'80s for the Australian writer Robyn Davidson, to whom he was introduced by their mutual friend Bruce Chatwin. Today, I’m remembering those earlier incarnations of this unlovely breed. Following the novel Fury, set mainly in New York and avoiding the previous sprawling narrative style that spans generations, periods and places, Rushdie's 2005 novel Shalimar the Clown, a story about love and betrayal set in Kashmir and Los Angeles, was hailed as a return to form by a number of critics.[9]. "[119] He was supportive of the US-led campaign to remove the Taliban in Afghanistan, which began in 2001, but was a vocal critic of the 2003 war in Iraq. Rushdie was the President of PEN American Center from 2004 to 2006 and founder of the PEN World Voices Festival. He remarked: "I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honour, and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way.

In 2010, U2 bassist Adam Clayton recalled that "lead vocalist Bono had been calling Salman Rushdie from the stage every night on the Zoo TV tour. Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.

His second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), won the Booker Prize in 1981 and was deemed to be "the best novel of all winners" on two separate occasions, marking the 25th and the 40th anniversary of the prize.Much of his fiction is set on the Indian subcontinent.

[9] Earlier that year, he announced that he was writing his memoirs,[29] entitled Joseph Anton: A Memoir, which was published in September 2012. Rushdie himself has been prevented from entering Pakistan, however. [77], On 3 August 1989, while Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh was priming a book bomb loaded with RDX explosive in a hotel in Paddington, Central London, the bomb exploded prematurely, destroying two floors of the hotel and killing Mazeh. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), was the subject of a major controversy, provoking protests from Muslims in several countries. He was appointed Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France in January 1999. Rushdie was born in India, but was sent to England to go to private school. We all live within and with these narratives.