In 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then the supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa that called for the killing of author Salman Rushdie for his portrayal of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad in his novel "The Satanic Verses."
Not recognizing the irony, in just that decree alone Iran's top cleric did more to defile his religion than Rushdie's writings could ever do.
That seems especially apparent after Friday's heinous attack on Rushdie at a literary conference in upstate New York. A 24-year-old New Jersey man who hadn't even been born when Khomeini issued the fatwa was arrested, later entering a not-guilty plea on charges of attempted murder and assault. Authorities have yet to provide a motive.
