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UK mum on Rushdie protests
19/06/2007 15:39 - (SA)
London - Britain remained tight-lipped on Tuesday over protests in Pakistan and Iran over the knighthood awarded to author Salman Rushdie, while his publisher refused to add "fuel to the flames".
The Foreign Office declined to comment substantially on the furore triggered among Muslims over the honour for the Indian-born writer of The Satanic Verses, seen as deeply blasphemous by Muslims.
Pakistan demanded Monday that Britain withdraw the knighthood, announced at the weekend in Queen Elizabeth II's birthday honours list.
A Foreign Office spokesperson in London sought to downplay remarks by Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul-Haq, who told lawmakers in Islamabad that the honour gave a justification for suicide attacks by Muslims.
"All I can say is that we understand that the minister is claiming to have been misunderstood with his earlier comments," said the Foreign Office spokesperson.
She referred all other questions to comments by Britain's High Commission in Pakistan, a spokesperson for whom said on Monday that Rushdie's honour was "richly deserved", adding that "the reasons for it are self-explanatory".
Rushdie's publisher meanwhile also refused to comment.
"We have no comment on it. We don't want to add fuel to the flames," said Christian Lewis, a spokesperson for Jonathan Cape, a division of publisher Random House.
Lewis added that she did not know where Rushdie currently is, adding that he divides his time between London and New York.
- AFP
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