who's brilliant idea was it to give rushdie this knighthood? he is an arrogant obscure writer who doesnt deserve any sort of award, and given the current climate it was bound to attract controversy.

what will happen next? i wouldnt be surprised if we ultimately see the embarassing spectacle of the british government cracking under pressure from muslim bigots and withdrawing the award.

john turner, leicester,

Although this anachronistic system of honours which still celebrates some far flung empire should have been put away with the death of the Queen Mother, what Britain does to recognize her own citizens is no concern of another country. National boundaries have always been safely guarded when it comes to their internal affairs and the minute other countries can decide what happens here it shows little respect for our own sovereignty and sets a precedence for even worse interference. We don't tell Pakistan or Iran, for example, whom they should commend or promote.

Though I am still trying to work out why Mr Rushdie would have a knighthood compared to some other popular authors who come to mind, he has been honoured by the government and Britain has the right to honour whomever it pleases in its own country.

Elaine Sihera, Maidenhead, United Kingdom

Dear All,

I am no Muslim, nor do I have any love for the religion. However, the British media can be (and is, on this occasion) incredibly one sided and guilty of sensationalising news.

Go and read a foreign newspaper. In Malaysia, there were only a couple of dozen Muslim fanatics "protesting" at the British embassy, while the rest of the 14million or so Muslims and 14million or so non-Muslim Malaysians couldnt care less.

Hardly representative of the "Muslim world".

Pete, Cov,

It is foolish to conduct normal relations by the US, UK and the EU with countries for encouraging terrorism, suicide bombing, murder etc in revenge for the legitimate award of knighthood to Salman Rushdie. These countries follow no democratic norms and therefore it is appropriate to treat them according to their style and standards: this would be best way to protect the interests and security of the democratic nations.

A. Stephenson, London, England

why don't the cleric who call for ppl to kamakazi, why dont he do it himself?

abu, jakarta,

Sir,
I am surprised by the number of foreigners commenting that foreigners should not interefere with our honours system, ehm.
Can one respect Islam without respecting its Prophet? How to win friends & influence people, by advocating freedom of (Hate) speech?
It looks like the Queen & Blair are giving a two-fingered salute a la Bernard Manning to the Muslims. Not PC but PB i.e political barbarism. What next, invite the Chief Rabbi for a ham sandwich & knight the Holocaust-denier Dr Irving? A queen for all her subjects? Freedom of speech for JUST books! Well how about Mein Kampf, Protocols of the Elders of Zion & the Anarchist's Cookbook? Anyone ever heard the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword?
Didn't the British philosopher Locke, as opposed to a Continental, say that "Complete freedom of speech is only for the newborn savage, all else is compromise on the way towards civilisation?" Barbarism being defined as being unrestrained, the opposite of Civilisation.

SC, London, United Kingdom

Britain is your country and you can jolly well do as you please. tell the bigots to jump into the sea and cool off! bravo britain!!!!

ds, delhi, INDIA

More tolerence from the religion of peace and tolerence (tm)

Rich, Essex, UK

Just another example of muslims not be a religion of peace. All other religions must be on the alert for radical islamics.

Paul Schippers, West Allis , WI, USA

Dee, Granite Bay, California .what a hypocrite firstly saying it is our right to give Salman Rushdie a knighthood, and then in same breathe saying that the Lordship should be taken away from Lord Ahmed. Hmm ,perhaps you should make all the decisions ??.

As for the uproar in Pakistan, they are looking for any excuse to agitate and make demonstrations. If Prophet Mohammed is so very strong and almighty ,as I am sure he is,then why do all the Muslims think that a simple cartoon will effect him in any way shape or form ?.

sergei, London, UK

These violent protests and threats are an embarrassment to British Muslims. When will we learn to protest in a civilised way.
All we have to do is reject his books, or buy one and burn it privately in your gardens. Just like how Britz enjoy burning guy folks.

Furthermore, we must defend Home Secretary John Reid because it is written:

Muslims must "obey the laws of the land" they live in :
-- Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 2796 & Sunan Tirmidhi)

Muslims must adhere to the laws of any country they live in, whether in the west or the east, as long as the law is not in contradiction with one’s religion.

Mr Blair make me head of The Muslim Council of Britain and I'll sort 'em out.

Mohammed, London, UK

I agree with the Home Secretary John Reid. It is your right who gets the knighthood and who does not. Britons should hold on to their right. I am also for taking away Lordship from Mr. Ahmed. He dors not deserve the title.

Dee, Granite Bay, California

How can you even start to come to a compromise?

louise, bristol, uK

I speak as an ordinary British man in the sreet - white.
Can someone explain to me why this man deserves a knighthood at all? What has he done to improve life in the UK?

George, Sheffield,

I fail to see that Mr Rushdie has done anything to merit a Knighthood. I would not care to judge the offensiveness of his book but I am certain he has been a drain on Britain not an asset.

C. Taylor, Newcastle, England

Not in my name.
I find it incredible that 'my' government should be so insensitive as to grant a knighthood to Mr. Rushdie when our troops are still
living and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How many more do they want to sentence to death?

James Sutherland, Tarragona, Spain

Well, didn't Nu-Labour do well with this nomination. The knighthood for Rushdie was, perhaps, not the wisest recommendation and, to my knowledge, certainly not something that the general public in Britain apparently wanted and probably do not necessarily support. However, the reactions from Pakistan, yet again, in burning the Union Flag followed by the political uttering and tripe about Fatwa and killing spouted by some in politics, who should if they have an ounce of intelligence, know better than to stir up fundamentalism and incite terrorism, are also quite stupid. Nonetheless, many Muslims, who purport to read and follow the Koran, appear not to understand that Islam is also meant to include compassion, tolerance and understanding. Perhaps it is only the ignorant and illiterate who do not understand, but it is unfortunate that there are those who appear to gain some perverse satisfaction from stirring up hatred and intolerance.

Kenneth, Suffolk, United Kingdom

We just so love that religious freedom the nice muslums claim they have.

Jim, Memphis,

Way to go Britannia! Stand by your guns. I am SO gald that someone will not be pushed around by extremists. May God bless your country.

Joe Quinn, Cleburne, Texas, USA

The Queen is an example of graciousness to me, personally. I say this as an American who was moved to tears when I saw Britons gathered near Buckingham Palace in vigils after 9/11 weeping openly for people in another hemisphere. That is something I will never forget, and it demonstrates the truly noble character of the quintessential Briton. Next I heard that the Queen had delayed the change of the guard, and I saw British soldiers play "America the Beautiful". Could there possibly have been a more heartfelt show of support and consolation for my entire country than this? I think not.

I saw this on the news either on 9/11 or the day after, though this is hardly "news" to anyone who truly understands what the United Kingdom is essentially like. This, in my opinion, also sets a definitive and remarkably positive light on the Queen.

Though I currently wear no uniform, and live on the other side of the planet in a country that fought to wars against yours for its independence,

Chet, Springfield,

Wow! It is nice to be able to live in world where everyone has an opinion about everything. I don't understand people of high governmental positions inciting people to harm others, but hey! it is his right as a human.
There will always be reasons to dislike someone whether (morally) right or wrong. My hope is that someday, people will not take every little thing so seriously and try to respect the differences in one another.
That's just what I think.

waldo, Nashville, Tennessee

There are core individual rights of freedom of expression, freedom of thought and freedom of religion that should NEVER be held hostage to any person, political system or religion that denies an individual these rights.

The furor Salman Rushdie’s knighthood has caused in the Islamic world only serves to show how intolerant Islam is of any person, nation or religion that values these core rights.

Islam is a religion of mindless submission that holds captive millions of people who lack the freedom to learn the truth about Muhammad and decide for themselves whether their religion is true or false.

To the Islamic world I say “Grow up!” If your religion and your prophet cannot stand up to reasoned analysis, criticism and historical evaluation then there is good reason to suspect it is a false religion existing only because it is imposed on a populus held captive by religious leaders for whom power and control are more important than freedom and truth.

Richard L., Annapolis, USA

Those who call for the death of an author for expressing an opinion are worthy of nothing but disdain. Religious zealotry, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or within any other religious system, is an evil synthesis of intolerance, arrogance, and bigotry that has caused more death and suffering than any institution or disease in recorded history.

Larry, Montgomery Village, MD, USA

Thank God...as a Muslim, I'm glad to see someone who has the fortitude to challenge traditional views receive such as honor. Not everyone caves in to the bullies of the religion. It's refreshing to see freedom of religion and thought promoted.

K. Ismail, Atlanta, GA