It was February 1988. I was in Bradford, a few weeks after the demonstration on which a copy of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses had been burned. I was there to interview Sher Azam, president of the Bradford Council of Mosques, and the man who had torched the book. Waiting in the drab building that housed the Bradford Council of Mosques, I heard a familiar voice.
“Hello Kenan, what are you doing here?”
It was Hassan, a friend from London, whom I had not seen for a couple of years. “Good to see you Hassan. I’m doing some interviews about Rushdie,” I said. “What are you doing in this godforsaken place?”
If you are a subscriber, please log in »
This article is available to subscribers only
Subscribing to Prospect is the most reliable and convenient way to receive the magazine every month, and offers the best value.Subscription Types:
Online
An online subscription offers you complete and unlimited access to the entire website, including our searchable archive of every back issue of Prospect, and a PDF edition of each new issue: all this for just £20 per year. Purchase an online subscription »Renewal
Renew an existing subscription »Institutional access
If you are a library, business organisation or any other large institution that needs a multi-user licence, you can obtain institutional access.
Share
Subscribe to post comments
Print
