Satanic Verses Continue to Influence

This sort of thing is getting boring; is it even possible to take fundamentalist Muslim Leaders seriously?  Esteemed author, Salman Rushdie, was just awarded a well-deserved knighthood.  Now, unfortunately, Sir Rushdie will be watching his back again with a renewed vigor.  Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, religious affairs minister of Pakistan, told the Pakistani Parliament and the world that addition of the word “Sir” to Rushdie’s name is clear justification for suicide attacks in general.

“This is an occasion for the 1.5 billion Muslims to look at the seriousness of this decision,” Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, religious affairs minister, told the Pakistani parliament in Islamabad. “The west is accusing Muslims of extremism and terrorism. If someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British government apologises and withdraws the ‘sir’ title.”

Of course my hope is that the people who are really in a bind over this do exactly what ul-Haq describes–commit suicide, ideally in an uninhabited region.

Further juicy and predictable quotes follow (emphasis mine):

Pakistan’s minister for parliamentary affairs, Sher Afgan Khan Niazi, who proposed the resolution condemning the honour, branded Rushdie a “blasphemer”. She told MPs: “The ‘sir’ title from Britain for blasphemer Salman Rushdie has hurt the sentiments of the Muslims across the world. Every religion should be respected. I demand the British government immediately withdraw the title as it is creating religious hatred.”

Religious hatred? Oh wait, such an asinine comment is par for the course.