The Rushdie affair and the politics of ambiguity

Abstract

This article explores some of the issues raised by Salman Rushdie's book ' The Satanic Verses' and questions the view that Islam constitutes aforce in international relations. Part one examines Rushdie's challenge to Islamic tradition in questioning established religious and political authority. Part two asks whether Islam really does exert international political influence, predisposing Muslims to political hostility to the West or acting as a unifying force in international politics. James Piscatori finds that responses in the Muslim world to ' The Satanic Verses' have varied considerably, and concludes that the idea of an Islamicforce in international relations is misleadingly simplified.