The Fatwa: Salman's Story
An intimate and involving documentary that charts in full—for the first time—the consequences of a worldwide controversy that forced author Salman Rushdie into hiding for over a decade. Following publication of his novel The Satanic Verses in 1988, Rushdie was accused of blasphemy by conservative Muslims. As the situation escalated, on 14 February 1989 Iran's then leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling on Muslims to kill the book's author and publishers. This is the inside story of how it felt to be at the epicentre of an international crisis as Rushdie recalls the day-to-day drama of living under a death sentence, terrified for the safety of his child, and hearing horrific news of his publishers and translators being attacked and killed. The programme features unprecedented access to key figures, including Rushdi's closest family and friends. This is an episode of BBC series Imagine.
Primary Title
- The Fatwa: Salman's Story
Date Broadcast
- Saturday 27 April 2013
Start Time
- 08 : 30
Finish Time
- 09 : 17
Duration
- 47:00
Channel
- Arts Channel
Broadcaster
- Sky Network Television
Programme Description
- An intimate and involving documentary that charts in full—for the first time—the consequences of a worldwide controversy that forced author Salman Rushdie into hiding for over a decade. Following publication of his novel The Satanic Verses in 1988, Rushdie was accused of blasphemy by conservative Muslims. As the situation escalated, on 14 February 1989 Iran's then leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling on Muslims to kill the book's author and publishers. This is the inside story of how it felt to be at the epicentre of an international crisis as Rushdie recalls the day-to-day drama of living under a death sentence, terrified for the safety of his child, and hearing horrific news of his publishers and translators being attacked and killed. The programme features unprecedented access to key figures, including Rushdi's closest family and friends. This is an episode of BBC series Imagine.
Classification
- Unknown
Owning Collection
- Television Vault
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
- Rushdie, Salman
- Censorship--History--20th century
- Directed and produced by Jill Nicholls
- Islam and literature--History--20th century
Genres
- Biography
- Documentary
Hosts
- Alan Yentob (Presenter)
Contributors
- Jill Nicholls (Director)
- Salman Rushdie (Subject)
- BBC (Production Unit)
- Jill Nicholls (Producer)
- Hari Kunzru (Interviewee)
- Ian McEwan (Interviewee)
- Hanif Kureishi (Interviewee)
- Paul Auster (Interviewee)
- Siri Hustvedt (Interviewee)
- William Nygaard (Interviewee)
- Arthur Hibbert (Interviewee)
- Zafar Rushdie (Interviewee)
- Sameen Rushdie (Interviewee)
- Andrew Wylie (Interviewee)
Subjects
- Rushdie, Salman
- Censorship--History--20th century
- Directed and produced by Jill Nicholls
- Islam and literature--History--20th century