Salman Rushdie: A Socrates of the Global Village

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Salman Rushdie is a man who isn't afraid to speak his mind. When Salman Rushdie wrote his novel The Satanic Verses it influenced chaos between the Moslems people and Rushdie. Socrates gained enemies for speculating about things far above and far below the earth. Rushdie can be considered a Socrates of the global village because Salman Rushdie is someone who publicly spoke his mind on what he believed in and gained enemies like Socrates.
Salman Rushdie was known for going against Islam, the prophet and the Koran. To that purpose Salman gained enemies for writing The Satanic Verses. Salman Rushdie was sentenced to death with no trial. Socrates had his own point of view within philosophy and gained Athen enemies by telling respected Athen men know they aren't wise. Socrates had to be present in court to defend himself among accusations made upon him. An Iranic Cleric offered a cash reward to anyone who killed Salman Rushdie. Salman offered a public apology to whoever was insulted by his novel; however, the Iranic Officials did not approve his statement. Socrates doesn't apologize for letting people know they aren’t wise. Socrates stands by his words no matter the trouble it might have cost him. ( Phillips 16, Plato 20)
The Ayatollah's statement came after months of mounting protests against Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses by upset Moslems, who blame Rushdie for insulting their religion. The protest involved British Moslems burning copies of Rushdie's book, the protest extended to Pakistan and India, where a lot of people died in the aggressive demonstration. (Phillips 16) Socrates had many Athens people viewing him negatively for many years. Instead of violent protests, Socrates was made fun of. A comedic play by Aristophanes,...

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...edieval times. Moslems leaders claim that the title of the novel The Satanic Verses disrespected their god, because it refers to their god as Satan. Even though Rushdie was raised as a Moslem, and claims he follows no religion, the Khomeini mentions that Rushdie rejected the words of his former religion, therefore, joined the enemies of Islam, and committed a crime.(Phillips 18) In the Islam tradition, the Koran is factually the word of God, transmitted by the Archangel Gabriel through the Prophet Mohammed. The result of Rushdie's novel is viewed as mocking wordplay.(Phillips 19) Socrates gained enemies for his speculations on philosophy. Socrates had young rich men followers who viewed him as an inspiring leader, therefore, was also blamed for teaching the youth his ideas. Both Salman Rushdie and Socrates were held responsible for religious insult. (Plato 20 - 24)

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