Iranian mullah revives death fatwa against Salman Rushdie over Satanic Verses 25 years after it was issued

Senior cleric Ahmad Khatami told Tehran Friday prayer fatwa 'fresh as ever'

Marked 25th anniversary of ruling offering $3.3m to Rushdie's killer

Author now often seen in public after coming out of police-guarded hiding



The Iranian clergy has revived Salman Rushdie's death fatwa 25 years after it was issued over his 'blasphemous' Satanic Verses.

On February 14, 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called on all Muslims to murder the award-winning author and anyone involved in the publication of his work.

This Friday, senior cleric Ahmad Khatami reminded worshippers at the Tehran Friday prayer that the 'historical fatwa' is 'as fresh as ever'.

Threat: Cleric Ahmad Khatami (left) reminded Muslims the $3.3m bounty on Salman Rushdie's head still stands

He added that even if Rushdie repents, it will not affect the sentence.

The religious ruling forced the award-winning writer into hiding, and Britain's ties with the Islamic republic were severely damaged just a few years after collaborating on a UN resolution between Iraq and Iran.

Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator, was stabbed to death in the face at work , a Norwegian publisher shot and an Italian publisher knifed.

Thousands took to the streets to burn copies of the book and thirty-seven people were massacred in Sivas, Turkey, in a 1993 attack intended to target Aziz Nesin, the book's Turkish translator.

More than two decades later, Rushdie has emerged from hiding and is regularly seen at public events.



Fled: The award-winning author, pictured with the book, was forced into hiding after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini vowed to kill him, anyone involved in the book's publication, and anyone close to him

Crisis: The outrage and widespread chaos has lasted 25 years. Here Pakistani Muslims are pictured protesting against Salman Rushdie and Britain in 2007. Five years later, the bounty was raised

Pages of the book were burned in street protests across the Middle East and three publishers were murdered

People of all ages and nationalities took to the streets with placards calling for his assassination



However, this week cleric Khatami implored followers not to abandon their attacks.



He said: 'The important thing is that this fatwa is as fresh as ever for Muslims. Faithful Muslims are looking for an opportunity to implement Imam's fatwa.

'Our enemies thought that with the acceptance of the resolution, Imam had retreated from his principles.

'Then this incident happened. It showed the world that the revered Imam had not retreated one bit.'

The Satanic Verses, Rushdie's fourth novel, propelled the Indian-born writer into a storm of controversy that forced him into hiding for the best part of a decade.



Rushdie, pictured right with his ex-wife Padma Lakshmi, has been seen out and about numerous times since emerging from hiding. In 2007, he was knighted and appeared publicly to receive the honour from the Queen



Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, reminds Rushdie every year that the fatwa still stands

The title refers to the so-called 'satanic verses', a group of alleged Qur'anic verses that allow intercessory prayers to be made to three Pagan Meccan goddesses.



The book's publication in 1988 sparked a wave of protest and condemnation from Muslims who accused it of blasphemy and mocking their faith. The following year, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Supreme Leader of Iran, issued a fatwā, or religious ruling, calling for Rushdie's death.



The British government gave the writer round-the-clock police protection.



Rushdie has received notices every year since the publication reminding him of the religious ruling.

In 2012, Hassan Sanei, the head of the state-funded 15 Khordad, raised the bounty on Rushdie's head by $500,000 to $3.3million ($2million).



He said Islamaphobic literature and films would not have been made if it weren't for the Satanic Verses.



'Surely if the sentence of the Imam had been carried out, the later insults in the form of caricatures, articles and the making of movies would not have occurred,' he said in a statement.



'I am adding another $500,000 to the reward for killing Salman Rushdie and anyone who carries out this sentence will receive the whole amount immediately.'



Also in 2012, Rushdie became the subject of a computer game in Iran called The Stressful Life Of Salman Rushdie And Implementation Of His Verdict.

