Iran says a fatwa issued by its revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini ordering the death of British writer Salman Rushdie still stands after the author's knighthood by the Queen.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini says the fatwa against the Indian-born author still stands. "The stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran with regard to this issue has not changed from what was put forward by the Imam Khomeini," he said. Mr Hosseini was asked by a local reporter why Iran's reaction to the knighthood for the writer has been relatively low-key in comparison to other Islamic countries such as Pakistan.
More than a week after the Queen made the author Sir Salman, there have been no officially-sanctioned protests against the knighthood in Iran, and Ayatollah Khamenei has yet to make any official comment on the issue. But Mr Hosseini has pointed out that swiftly after the awarding of the knighthood, he had accused Britain of "Islamaphobia" in knighting Sir Salman.
A leading cleric, Ahmad Khatami, had said during Friday prayers that the fatwa was still valid, but this was the first time an official has made such a confirmation since the knighthood.
In neighbouring Pakistan, Islamists have staged protests, burning effigies of Queen Elizabeth and Sir Salman, while its Parliament has called on Britain to revoke the honour. Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul Haq also sparked controversy by saying that Sir Salman's knighthood justified suicide bombings. |