Srinagar: Expressing displeasure over granting
of visa to controversial writer Salman Rushdie by the Indian
government, a Jammu and Kashmir-based Muslim body on Friday said
the author is an "apostate" and liable to be "killed".
"A meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Personal Law
Board was held today to discuss the issuance of visa
to Salman Rushdie and extreme displeasure and anger was
expressed on the issue because Rushdie has already been found
involved in apostasy and Islamic scholars have unanimously
passed death edict against him as per Shariah law," JKMPLB
said in a statement here.
"Rushdie's entry into India will naturally hurt the
sentiments of 22 crore Muslims including those in Jammu and
Kashmir," it said.
Accusing the Congress of exploiting Muslims for electoral
gains, the organization said the Centre should have been
sensitive to the sentiments of the community but it is being
felt that they are more interested in patronizing the entry of
Salman Rushdie into the country.
Several Islamic religious bodies have demanded cancellation
of Rushdie's visa even as the controversial author said he
does not need a visa to come here.
The 65-year-old Rushdie had earned the wrath of Muslims
worldwide due to the alleged blasphemous content in his novel
"The Satanic Verses", published in 1988.
PTI
First Published: Friday, January 13, 2012, 22:48