Rushdie doesn't regret Verses
2008-10-02 07:32
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London - Salman Rushdie says he's not sorry he wrote The Satanic Verses, even though the book drew an Iran-sponsored death sentence that forced him to spend years in hiding.
The 61-year-old novelist says he has always tried to ask big questions about the role of the individual in history, and would not want it any other way.
The interview ran on Wednesday in The Times newspaper to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the novel's publication.
The Satanic Verses enraged some Muslims and brought a death sentence for blasphemy from Iran's then-leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Rushdie lived under police protection for a decade until the Iranian government distanced itself from the order in 1998. He has since gradually returned to public life.
- AP