Even Jimmy Carter, whose presidency was destroyed by Ayatollah Khomeini, denounced the book. So it sounds like the West on some level came to Rushdie's defense; were there people who sympathized with the Ayatollah? Was there anyone who criticized Rushdie for the satanic verses? Some people tried to parse the issue by condemning the fatwa but expressing understanding that some Muslims may be hurt or offended by passages of the book.
Was never about Salman Rushdie. Journalist Robin Wright explains.
This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, fact-checked by Laura Bullard with help from Hady Mawajdeh and Victoria Dominguez, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and edited by Sean Rameswaram, who also hosted.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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