Satanic Verses - 16 years late

2004-03-19 10:16

Budapest - Salman Rushdie's controversial novel The Satanic Verses has finally been published in Hungary, 16 years after it first appeared, the local publisher Konzorcium said on Thursday.

"The Hungarian version of the novel will be on sale here from the beginning of next week," Konzorcium said in a statement issued in Budapest.

Konzorcium is a cover for a Hungarian publishing house that did not want to be openly linked to the book, which in 1989 saw late Iranian leader Ayotallah Ruhollah Khomeini issue a death edict against Rushdie for blasphemy against Islam.

"We decided to keep our identity secret so as to avoid any potential attacks against the publishing house," the publishers said.

All of Rushdie's other works have been published in Hungary.

They were brought out by the publisher Europa, which refused to publish The Satanic Verses.

- AFP