R.A.J.’s support of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses

[Rafic Soormally]

« Apparently the future of Paradise Island depends on whether a few copies of a banned book, Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses, were on sale in this democratic, secular country that boasts of a free education system which presumably has helped its citizens to make informed, personal choices about their reading material…», [« SITHANEN'S BUDGET : ¿ Eh Amigo, sólo trozos para el pobre ? », R.A.J., le Mauricien, 17th June 2008]


The anonymous writer using the initials R.A.J. is at it again. He has been inciting people against the lawful benefits of Ministers and top Civil Servants, and even accused a class of Civil Servants involved in criminal matters as « corrupt » because of « deals » made with alleged criminals. He progressed to the incitement of Mauritians in the riot strategy by raising their consciousness in reacting, like elsewhere, to the universal shortage of basic foodstuffs and other products. Now, under the cover of ‘debating’ the recent Rama Sithanen’s budget, he is promoting racial and religious hatred by supporting Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, a book which is blasphemous against Muslims and Islam and which has caused many deaths around the world. R.A.J. knows very well that this banned book has indeed been on sale in Mauritius, and not « whether » it is on sale. Moreover, he does not argue for the respect of the law in that it is wrong to sell a banned book. Rather, he argues for « freedom of expression » for which he says Paul Bérenger, the present leader of the opposition, is an « arch defender » and accuses him of becoming « disorientated » with the budget as he chose to address the unlawful sale of The Satanic Verses which, according to him [R.A.J.], was « topical twenty years ago », but not now.

The Mauritian Salman Rushdie
Although pro-Rushdie fanatics argue ‘freedom of expression’, The Satanic Verses, published on 26th September 1988 in London by pro-Israel publishers Viking/Penguin, has been banned in many countries, including Mauritius, India, South Africa. In indescribable fashion and under the cover of ‘fiction’, Salman Rushdie’s book blasphemes Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, his wives and more. Rushdie joined the anti-Islamic propaganda and hatred since the early days of Islam [ref. Theodore Noldeke, William Muir and W. M. Watt]. In « Salman Rushdie and the Third World », Timothy Brennan points out that Rushdie lived a « childhood of blasphemy ». Rushdie used the term « arse-kisser » while R.A.J. uses « arse-licker ». Rushdie defames through allegation of « homosexuality », and R.A.J. is for children’s ‘education’ in homosexuality and AIDS. Rushdie talks about « God’s permission to f*** as many women », and R.A.J. talks about sex in terms of « mechanical thrusting and heaving of online porn movies » which he has witnessed.

Such obscenities have nothing to do with ‘freedom of speech’, which is not an absolute right in itself. If The Satanic Verses had described R.A.J.’s mother in similar terms, would R.A.J. have justified those « verses » as freedom of speech in a democratic and secular country where people can make « informed personal choices about their reading material .. »? R.A.J. wants to introduce in Mauritius a hippie culture where every obscene material should be made freely available because people can make those ‘informed’ choices, informed by the likes of him presumably. If obscenity can be obtained via the net, it does mean that it should be made freely available to everyone. As R.A.J. is in favour of such obscenity, he can take the matter to the courts to have The Satanic Verses unbanned. One wonders what type of childhood he must have had. In a debate on the Défi Blog about « The Narcissism of R.A.J. », the following are some of the comments made about him :

• « He [R.A.J.] may think that he is a fully self actualised individual when his basic needs have not even been met. This is where his difficulties begin », by Munna
• « R.A.J delivers long flowery proses to satisfy the needs of the pret-a-penser clientele. In typical Berenger style, he just bandwagons on talks-of-a-town, as portrayed by our "independent" media, he packages them with a dose of anecdotes + bombastic wordings + what filters through his unconscious biases. », by CitizenG.
• « His [R.A.J.’s] articles reflect a bit his own state of mind. I give credit to Mr Rafic for spotting the narcissism. Probably we should add clinical depression or schizoprenia to it and some form of personality disorder than I still can't put my finger on. », by I_feel_sorry_for_him

Conclusion
R.A.J.’s incitement, extreme and violent language are most harmful to the fabric of Mauritian society which R.A.J. is doing his very best to fragment for political reasons. The Mauritian authorities are no doubt asking how long they will tolerate the incitement of this anonymous writer, clearly encouraged and helped by a section of the Mauritian press. The Satanic Verses of such a deranged mind as that of apostate Salman Rushdie may help R.A.J. in his « personal choices », but they will no doubt inflame passions and cause irreparable damage to the cohesion of the nation. The authorities must act before it is too late.


M Rafic Soormally
London
24 June 2008

Mise au point sent to le Mauricien