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When novelist Salman Rushdie was asked by “Today” host Matt Lauer if he had any sympathy for Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a man reportedly linked to the controversial anti-Islam video sometimes called “Innocence of Muslims,” he replied “not really.”
Rushdie added “Because he did it on purpose. He set out to create a response and he got it in spades.”
The video trailer for “Innocence of Muslims” has sparked protests in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia and the turmoil appears to be spreading.
Rushdie came on “Today” to promote his new book “Joseph Anton,” a memoir about his time in hiding in the wake of the publication of “The Satanic Verses,” his acclaimed 1988 novel that drew a fatwa against him, and a call for his death, from Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. Like “Innocence of Muslims,” “The Satanic Verses” provoked protests around the world.
Rushdie told Lauer that his intentions were very different from those of the filmmaker behind “Innocence.”
“He’s done something malicious, and that’s a very different thing from writing a serious novel,” said Rushdie. “He’s clearly set out to provoke, and he’s obviously unleashed a much bigger reaction than he hoped for. I mean, one of the problems with defending free speech is you often have to defend people that you find to be outrageous and unpleasant and disgusting.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012...-muslim-filmmaker-clearly-set-out-to-provoke/
Rushdie added “Because he did it on purpose. He set out to create a response and he got it in spades.”
The video trailer for “Innocence of Muslims” has sparked protests in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia and the turmoil appears to be spreading.
Rushdie came on “Today” to promote his new book “Joseph Anton,” a memoir about his time in hiding in the wake of the publication of “The Satanic Verses,” his acclaimed 1988 novel that drew a fatwa against him, and a call for his death, from Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. Like “Innocence of Muslims,” “The Satanic Verses” provoked protests around the world.
Rushdie told Lauer that his intentions were very different from those of the filmmaker behind “Innocence.”
“He’s done something malicious, and that’s a very different thing from writing a serious novel,” said Rushdie. “He’s clearly set out to provoke, and he’s obviously unleashed a much bigger reaction than he hoped for. I mean, one of the problems with defending free speech is you often have to defend people that you find to be outrageous and unpleasant and disgusting.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012...-muslim-filmmaker-clearly-set-out-to-provoke/
