Sir Salman petition on Comment Central

The Home Secretary has refused to apologise for or back down over Salman Rushdie’s knighthood today despite mounting protests in the Muslim world.

John Reid said the knighthood for the Booker Prize-winning author was an example of traditional British tolerance. "I think we have a set of values that accrues people honours… even when they don’t agree with our point of view. That’s our way and that’s what we stand by," he said.

International protests continued today with both the Iraqi Foreign Minister - visting London - and protesters in Malaysia joining Pakistani and Iranian campaigners in criticising the UK Government.

Mr Reid suggested Rushdie’s work belonged in a British culture of challenging religious orthodoxies in the arts, and he cited the chorus of Christian complaints when Monty Python made the film Life of Brian.

"We have to be sensitive, but I think that we take the approach that in the long-run the protection of the right to express opinions in literature, argument and politics is of over-riding value to our society," he said.

"We have very strong laws about promoting racial intolerance. It isn’t a free-for-all. We’ve thought very carefully about it. But we have a right to express opinions and a tolerance of other people’s point of view, and we don’t apologise for that."

Rushdie was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in the Queen’s Birthday honours last week. His best known novel, The Satanic Verses, prompted the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini to announce a fatwa sentencing the writer to death for blasphemy in 1989.

Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, questioned the timing of Rushdie’s honour, warning that extremist groups could exploit the decision. He was speaking after a meeting with Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, who defended the honour.

"For my government, we share the views of many Muslims. Iraq is a Muslim country. We believe that, with all due respect to the knighthood, I think it was untimely," Mr Zebari said. "This is my view. I don’t have any official position from my government on this issue, but I think it would be used by many quarters to exploit this issue outside this country."

The most virulent protests against the award have been held in Pakistan, where the Government condemned the award and one minister was quoted encouraging the ultimate retribution. "If someone exploded a bomb on his body he would be right to do so unless the British Government apologises and withdraws the ’Sir’ title," said Mohammed Ijaz ul-Haq, the religious affairs minister.

Street protests continued today in Pakistan as a prominent hardline cleric supported calls for Rushdie to be killed. Abdul Rashid Ghazi, one of two brothers who run the extremist Red Mosque in the capital Islamabad backed a call for suicide bombers to target the novelist.

"Salman Rushdie deserves to be killed and anyone who has the power must kill him," he said.

Robert Brinkley, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, was summoned to meet officials in Islamabad to hear Pakistani Government concerns yesterday. He responded by expressing his own "deep concern" at comments made by ministers.

Mrs Beckett was more conciliatory today, apologising for any hurt caused and stressing that many other Muslims had also been awarded in the British honours system.

"Obviously we are sorry if there are people who have taken very much to heart this honour, which is after all for a lifelong body of literary work," she said.

"People who are members of the Muslim faith are very much part of our whole, wider community... they receive honours in this country in just the same way as any other citizen."

In Kuala Lumpur members of Malaysia’s main Islamic opposition, the Pan-Malaysia Islamic party, shouted "Go to Hell Britain! Go to Hell Rushdie!" outside the British High Commission.

Protests have also been held in Iran where an extremist group has put a $150,000 bounty on Rushdie’s head and one newspaper yesterday dubbed the Queen an "old crone".

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