Salman Rushdie

Early this year, the 1989 fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, originally issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, was reaffirmed–and it’s not just an idle threat; more than fifty people around the world have been murdered because of connections to Rushdie. Nonetheless, the author occasionally risks a public appearance such as this one, at which he’ll read from his new novel, Shalimar the Clown, a tale of hatred and extremism in Kashmir. William T. Vollman, who’s borne witness to his share of hatred and extremism, has noted that “one must congratulate Rushdie for having made artistic capital out of his own suffering, for the years he spent under police protection, hunted by zealots, have been poured into the novel in ways which ring hideously true.” 1200 Marquette Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-3421; www.ewestminster.org/forum.asp