By John Di Leonardo
Indian-born British-American novelist Salman Rushdie, wrote a satirical novel entitled, “The Satanic Verses,” simultaneously garnering critical acclaim from the general public as well as harsh criticism and even death threats from portions of the Islamic community for passages charged as “blasphemy”. A year later, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini even called for Rushdie’s execution and a $3 million reward was offered to anyone who killed him. While many Muslims have defended Salman’s right to free speech in the years that followed, Khomeini’s hit finally caught up with Rushdie, now 75, who received multiple stab wounds at a lecture in New York last week, resulting in ventilator assistance and the likelihood of losing one of his eyes. It is with this event that I recall the Jain doctrine of Anekantavada, or non-one-sidedness.
