Notorious Rushdie leaves Bombay hotel after Muslims protest

By: Irfan Malik

BOMBAY, India: Notorious British author Salman Rushdie, holidaying in India, has checked out of his Bombay hotel room late Monday after Muslims threatened to “blacken” his face.

“He left late last night (Monday),” a hotel official said asking to remain unnamed.

His departure came after a local Muslim group offered a 100,000-rupee (2,100-dollar) award to anyone who would “blacken his face”. Blackening a person's face with shoe polish or soot is considered a grave insult in India.

Bombay witnessed a huge protest on Monday against the writer's visit. The protestors were carrying banners saying “Kill Salman Rushdie” and “Kill Rushdie, the White Collar Terrorist”.

India-born Rushdie was forced into hiding in Britain in 1989 after the late founder of Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatullah Rouhullah Khomeini issued a death edict, or fatwa, against him, for his blasphemous novel “The Satanic Verses”.

END