When a Novel Became a Global Crisis

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FEBRUARY 14, 1989

Iran (broadcast globally)
37 years ago

On February 14, 1989, a literary controversy turned into a geopolitical shockwave. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa calling for the assassination of Salman Rushdie after the publication of The Satanic Verses (1988).

The impact was immediate and international: book bans, protests, diplomatic fallout, and—most enduringly—a new reality for writers and publishers: that a novel could carry lethal consequences.

After the fatwa, Iranian-linked entities helped finance the threat: the U.S. Treasury later described the 15 Khordad Foundation as having “proudly placed a bounty” on Rushdie’s life in support of Khomeini’s order.

The affair also became a long-running diplomatic problem; in 1998, Iran’s government publicly committed it would not support or hinder assassination operations against Rushdie as part of restoring relations with the UK, while debates about the decree’s status persisted.

—— WHY THIS MATTERS ——

Because this moment sits at the intersection of ideas, power, and fear:

• It redrew the boundaries of “cultural conflict.”
  A novel became an international flashpoint about blasphemy, censorship, and the limits of dissent.

• It created a template for intimidation beyond Rushdie.
  The U.S. Treasury notes that threats and violence touched others connected to the book: writers, translators, and publishers.

• It didn’t stay in the past.
  Decades later, Rushdie was stabbed onstage in New York in 2022; his attacker was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.

—— THE TAKEAWAY ——

February 14, 1989 is a reminder that words can carry extraordinary power, and that societies reveal themselves in how they respond to offense: through debate and law, or through fear and violence. The Rushdie fatwa became a global stress test for pluralism, protection, and free expression.

At Masters of Trivia, with our MOT utility token, we turn turning points like this into daily interactive learning, so curiosity becomes a habit, and history becomes something you can use.

Today’s Daily Quiz explores the Rushdie Affair timeline: the novel, the fatwa, the diplomacy, and the long shadow of political violence around speech.