7 historical events that happened on Valentine’s Day
7. Fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie — 1989
Valentine’s Day was not so loving when Iran's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or Islamic legal ruling, calling for the death of bestselling author Salman Rushdie.
Rushdie had garnered international controversy for his book The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims considered to be anti-Islamic and blasphemous.
By the time that the fatwa had been issued, Rushdie’s book had already been banned in multiple Muslim-majority nations, and some booksellers who sold it were physically attacked.
Nevertheless, Rushdie has continued to write and be invited to speak at events. He was knighted in June 2008 by Queen Elizabeth II for his numerous literary contributions. Rushdie was also a guest speaker at an event at the Washington National Cathedral in 2016.
However, the outrage over his work has never truly subsided. In 2022, an Islamic extremist attacked Rushdie, stabbing him several times at a theatre in New York.
While Rushdie survived the attack, he continues to have lingering issues from his injuries, including being blind in one eye.
