Deepa Bookhun and her satanic obscenity

[Rafic Soormally]

Reading Deepa Bookhun’s sarcastic « Satanic whatever » [l’Express, 16 June 2008], clearly referring to the blasphemous and obscene filth in Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, it is quite plain that Ms Bookhun is in favour of the free availability of obscene filth simply because « you can just as easily log on to amazon.com and order the book, pay for it by credit card and have it delivered to your door within a week ». Pornographic and paedophile materials can also be bought in the same way. Hence, based upon Ms Bookhun’s reasoning, all filth must be liberalised and to hell with any board of censors. If she is in the habit of making use of « technology » in order to watch, read and download pornographic and/or obscene prohibited material, she may be in contravention of the law and, furthermore, it may also be an offence to encourage others to do the same.

Even though there is no enacted law to prevent the importation of Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, his book has been lawfully banned in Mauritius as well as in India, South Africa, and many other countries for very good reasons. The fact that this deeply immoral and offensive book was published 20 years ago does not make it acceptable now, as Ms Bookhun is arguing. In The Satanic Verses, under the cover of fiction, Salman Rushdie uses the most extreme and violent language to blaspheme and denigrate Islam, Muslims, the Holy Prophet Muhammad and his wives. He uses the word « f*** » in so many paragraphs, and describes « f***ing sessions » and talks about « God’s permission to f*** as many women ».

As Ms Bookhun finds the Satanic Verses, which she probably downloaded or ordered from the net, so educational and from which she has learnt so much, she better keeps it under her pillow but not under other people’s pillows. She wrongly believes that responsible politicians have anything to learn from such a book. In « Salman Rushdie and the Third World », Timothy Brennan points out that Rushdie lived a « childhood of blasphemy » which has nothing to do with « the inner dilemmas of immigration and the disorientation » which Ms Bookhun is trying to argue and use as justification. If Salman Rushdie had written about Christianity or Hinduism and the most important figures therein in similar fashion, it would have been equally justified to have his book banned. Justifying the free availability of obscene material is often regarded as obscene in itself.

Freedom of expression has its limits, especially when it comes to obscenity, blasphemy, gratuitous allegations and attacks, spreading false news, and so on. On the other hand, the right to respond to Ms Bhookun’s inaccuracies, misleading and bias statements and obscene justification in favour of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses is well within the realm of freedom of expression.

M Rafic Soormally
London
25 June 2008

Mise au point sent to l’Express

[Giorgio B Hills]

Dear Mr. Soormally,

While I agree that Miss Deepa's articles are always way too sarcastic I wonder what are your views on Minister Jeetah's. I'm truly curious to know about your point of view on the performance of this P.Tr. Minister.

Thank you in advance.

[Giorgio B Hills]

In other words... Are you able to openly express your feelings on this particular P.Tr. Minister?

Thank you once again.

[Rafic Soormally]

'Chutneyfying' Rushdie

By Bhishmadev Seebaluck
Défi Media Group, 4th July 2008

There is no tribe of human beings more pestiferous than the people who insist on preventing you from reading a book, whether you wish to read it or not.

My dear Billy,

Do you know how many verses Satan has written in all? Don't bother to count them, or to click your computer to check the number. It might interest you to know, however, that each time Satan composes a verse, there'll be millions of fatwahs issued against him by fidels who won't even care or dare to read it. And that's probably enough to serve him right. But rest assured, the devil will never cease quoting the scriptures whenever s/he has to.

It is said that at the time of mating, upstream do salmons rush and die. It is not known what exactly motivated Sir Salman to rush against the current, my dear Billy, but he certainly didn't die, in spite of a deadly fatwah worth several millions that was proclaimed against his controversial self. On the contrary, Sir Salman lives, a prosperous gentleman, bathing in wealth and health, with the personal blessing and protection of Her Majesty who even gifted him a knighthood on his birthday some time back.

When I met him in New Delhi in January 2000 on the occasion of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, I asked him whether, all said and done, he was sorry he had written The Satanic Verses. “Are you mad?” he retorted. “See the limelight it has thrust me into!” That sure was a euphemism for “See how stinking rich I've become.” And he had not even become a Sir yet!

Rushdie's original title for his Satanic Verses was reportedly How To Be Damned And Become A Billionaire In The Process. But I won't dare tread on this ground and risk prosecution for diffusing false news, because it's all hearsay and close to rumour-mongering.

Most of those who have damned and banned the book have done so without even reading the infamous verses.

Have you ever struggled through one of Sir Salman Rushdie's books to the end, my dear Billy? I haven't, nor do I believe, did the Ayatollah. But Khomeini will be happy to know, and will certainly bless Maulana Jameel Chooramun from up there, for having taken the relay on the Rushdie fatwah. Maulana Chooramun is proud not to have read the Satanic Verses; he is prouder still to have renewed the Ayatollah's fatwah. “That man must die,” he whispered loudly.

Sir Salman Rushdie may be a great writer, but anyone who finishes his book is definitely a great reader. Some people who have not read The Satanic Verses will tell you that this is not a book to be tossed aside lightly but one that should be thrown away with great force. As for myself, my dear Billy, I swear I'd rather read a book on hunting written by a tiger. Or a book on Jesus written by Beelzebub.

“Never judge a book by what other people say about it,” is a piece of advice that hasn't been given or recorded yet. So some people wanted to see for themselves, with their own eyes, as it were. One honourable member of parliament was among them. He had heard so much about The Satanic Verses that he wanted to make sure. He knew he could always rely on some close aides to explain the parts he didn't understand, that is, the whole book.

So he sent one of his domestics to Le Printemps Bookshop in Vacoas to catch hold of a copy, even though he was fully aware of the ban on the book. “Toba, Toba,” said Mr. Ahmud Sulliman, the director of Le Printemps Bookshop. “We do not sell haraam items here. I'll rather close my bookshop than sell such a profanity.” Disappointed, frustrated and embittered at not getting a copy of his Verses at Le Printemps, the honourable member turned it into a State issue and raised the question in Parliament. “How come Le Printemps wasn't selling the book when other bookshops were selling it both over and under the counter?”

I don't know if the honourable gentleman has recommended a fatwah against all those who have read or are planning to read the vexing verses. Another honourable member was repportedly heard saying, “The last time I went to Madagascar I got through six Salman Rushdie books. Next time I must remember to take enough toilet paper.”

The 20-year old fatwah on Sir Salman Rushdie has been renewed. So has the 20-year old ban on his book. Both have happened in Mauritius, the greatest democracy that God in His munificence has created on earth. It's funny how people who won't budge their little finger to encourage reading are prompt to ban reading.

I'm greatly tempted to write an outrageous book and arrange to get it banned so that its instant success is assured and it becomes an unprecedented bestseller on the black market.

By the way, for those who have not read them, a few copies of The Satanic Verses are still available at Book World in Port Louis.



REPLY TO « Bhishmadev Seebaluck »

« I'm greatly tempted to write an outrageous book and arrange to get it banned so that its instant success is assured and it becomes an unprecedented bestseller on the black market », Bhishmadev Seebaluck.


Dear ‘Sir’ Seebaluck

According to what your are saying, pornography, cocaine, heroine, etc. must be made freely available because you can find ways to obtain them, and all Board of Censors must be disbanded.

Since you have read Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, which has been lawfully banned in Mauritius and other parts of the world, and recommend others where to buy it because you believe that he is such a « great writer » and that you are such a « great reader », I would like to hold you to your temptation about writing an « outrageous book » like the Satanic Verses and have it published.

Along Rushdie’s lines in The Satanic Verses, why don’t you write such a book about your Mother, your wife or your sister ? The British Queen may decide to make you ‘Sir’ as well, for outstanding contribution to ‘literature’.

Yours sincerely

M Rafic Soormally


Note : Fatwah is a LEGAL PRONOUNCEMENT. It is a judgement passed by a competent authority.

[Rafic Soormally]

According to the original text of the posting signed Bhishmadev Seebaluck « ‘Chutneyfying’ Rushdie », Le Défi Blog, 4th July 2008, Seebaluck did end his article with the following words :

« By the way, for those who have not read them, a few copies of The Satanic Verses are still available at Book World in Port Louis. »

I have an exact copy of Seebaluck’s original text saved as a complete web page with his photograph, and I have also posted his article elsewhere on the web.

I posted replies to Seebaluck’s article of the 4th July, but two of them were not published without any reason given. I made it clear to him that he was inciting people to buy a banned book, Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses, which is blasphemous and so offensive to Muslims and caused so many deaths around the world. In so doing, I also made it clear to him that he was infringing the law and liable for incitement. Moreover, he is also an accomplice because he has not notified the Police that the banned book is being sold publicly given that he has knowledge of it and even invited readers to buy the book because he advised « Never judge a book by what other people say about it ». He went on to say that he was tempted to write « an outrageous book and arrange to get it banned so that its instant success is assured and it becomes an unprecedented bestseller on the black market. »

After Seebaluck has been exposed and rendered himself liable to prosecution, he subsequently retracted and had the words « Satanic Verses » replaced with « Sanatanic Verses » in the concluding sentence of his original post « ‘Chutneyfying’ Rushdie » dated 4th July 2008. “Satanic Verses” have therefore been replaced by “Sanatanic Verses” in italics.

Then, in his new post « Verses that disturb », Défi Blog 11th July 2008, Seebaluck made out that he ended his article of the 4th July thus :

“For those who have not read them, a few copies of The Sanatanic Verses are still available at Book World in Port Louis.”

This is totally and utterly false. Seebaluck himself confirms that he has tampered with his statement when he says « For those who have not read them », where « them » contextually refers to the Satanic Verses and nothing else.

And then he has the audacity to say that « Mauritians are fond of being stupid » when they tried to buy the Satanic Verses at Book World. It is not surprising that other people who have read Seebaluck’s article in which he advertised the Satanic Verses and where to buy it have brought the matter to the attention of the Police, hence the CID’s enquiries at the bookshop as Seebaluck stated. Seebaluck has been caught in the act of inciting people to buy a blasphemous and proscribed book, and even claimed that Book World at Port Louis was selling Salman Rushdie’s banned Satanic Verses, not ‘Sanatanic’ Verses as he alleges. He was writing about Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and the fatwa on Rushdie and certainly not about the hymns in Sanatan Dharma as he NOW alleges.

Bhishmadev Seebaluck has been caught lying and is guilty as charged. Who is truly « blind », who is being « stupid » and who are the « morons » ? Certainly not the readers nor the Police as he makes out.

M Rafic Soormally
London
13th July 2007


Note: This article has been posted on the Défi Blog awaiting publication

Le Défi Media Group - 'Chutneyfying' Rushdie

Le Défi Media Group - Salman Rushdie : Satanic inciters to religious hatred

Le Défi Media Group - Verses that disturb

[dkj]