A Knighthood Deserved ; Freedom of Conscience and Expression Are Recognized By Honor for Rushdie

Jun 25, 09:04 PM

Current Headlines: One of the purposes of art is to make us face some truths we might prefer to ignore. By that measure, author Salman Rushdie may be the most important artist of our time.

People do not need to have read any of the acclaimed novels by the new Knight Bachelor of the British Empire to see the impact they have had. Mostly, they tear the veneer of civilization off of a frightening number of otherwise peaceful Muslims who are heard to preach violence against those who have offended their religious sensibilities.

Even when the sentiments are expressed only by a vocal minority, the vehemence expressed remains a threat to the freedom of the whole world.

After the 1989 publication of Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses," thought by many Muslims to have insulted the memory of the Prophet Muhammad, the Indian-born Brit was the target of a death warrant issued by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Years later, after Khomeini's death, the Iranian government lifted the fatwa and Rushdie emerged from a decade in hiding.

The danger Rushdie faces grew as a result of his knighthood. Anti- Rushdie and anti-British protesters took to the streets in Pakistan, and even some of that nation's leaders condemned the honor and suggested that it would justify suicide bombings and other acts of violence. And Pakistan -- a nuclear power -- is supposedly an ally of the West's anti-terror campaign.

Here's the moral of this story. Now, as ever before, the freedom of conscience is under threat. But it is not a threat that can be countered by armies, intelligence or police work. It can only be faced, and lived with, by people who stand up and live lives that honor freedom and individual expression.

Sir Salman Rushdie lives such a life and, by honoring him, her majesty's government honors what is best in our way of life.

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