Hurting People's Feelings

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Salman Rushdie, the famous British-Indian novelist, was appointed to be a Knight Bachelor last week - as you're perhaps aware. You're also probably aware that there is an ongoing fatwa against Rushdie, issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, because he wrote a naughty book called The Satanic Verses which satirised Islam; the decision to bestow a knighthood on him has therefore caused quite a fuss in certain circles.

The reaction is absurd, of course, and only serves to demonstrate that there is a small section of the Muslim world that has clearly lost the plot - the Pakistan Ulema council, for example, has decided that in retaliation it is bestowing the title of Saifullah, or Sword of Islam on Osama bin Laden, because "if a blashphemer can be given the title 'Sir'...despite the fact that he's hurt the feelings of Muslims, then a mujahid who has been fighting for Islam must be given the lofty title of...Saifullah". That's right: Britain has hurt their feelings (the poor little lambs), perhaps as badly as if we'd stolen their lunch money, or spilt their milk, and so the only sensible reaction is for them to honour a murderous, psychopathic thug who relishes the deaths of Westerners in general and British/Americans in particular. It seems a tad disproportionate, but who are we to question the Ulema council? After all, cultural relativism, who are we to judge, etc, blah de blah.

Now it seems that Pakistan's National Assembly has unanimously condemned the awarding of the honour, with Religious Affairs Minisiter Ejaz-ul-Haq arguing that suicide bombings in Britain are now justified, and that "if Britain does not withdraw [the knighthood], all Muslim countries should break off diplomatic relations". Fair enough, but one has to wonder whether Mr. ul-Haq is also advocating breaking off relations to the extent that Pakistan, for example, might turn down all the aid money that Britain supplies it with. One suspects not; funny how you can usually tell with these things.

You would expect that sort reaction from hardliners like the Ulema council and Ejaz-ul-Haq, and I'm not particularly worried about it. Worse is that of people like Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer (who has said that the knighthood should be put "on hold"), seem all too willing to pander to them. Encouraging hissy fits - and, worse, backing down to people who are willing to countenance suicide bombings and the indiscriminate murder of civilians - is obviously, palpably wrong, and it worries me that peers (who by their nature are supposed to be sensible, educated people) should be so simultaneously stupid and spineless.

Personally, I've never liked Salman Rushdie, and I think he's a bad writer who courts controversy to sell books. I also dislike the current tendency among the British literary elites to honour authors just because they're from a developing country and write novels with themes that happen to tie into the particular angst of the moment. For that reason, I'm not particularly happy that the man is now a Knight of the Realm. But it's our decision who we award knighthoods to, not Pakistan's, and no amount of browbeating and hysterical overreaction should dissuade us from that. And if Pakistan really wants to cut off diplomatic relations with Britain, it should have the guts to carry that threat through to its sensible conclusion and hand back our aid money. We're happy to give it, and in some sense obligated, but nobody's got a gun to your head.