Fatwa Quote by Salman Rushdie
““The police arrived and went to question the driver of the truck, who was still sitting in his cab, scratching his head. The truck looked as if nothing had happened to it. … The police were giving the driver a hard time, though. They too had worked out that the man sitting dazed and wounded on the grass was Salman Rushdie, and so they wanted to know, what was the driver’s religion? The driver was bewildered. “What’s my religion got to do with anything?” Well, was he a Muzlim? An Islammic? Was he Eye-ray-nian? Is that why he had tried to kill Mr. Rushdie? Maybe one of the Ayatoller’s fellers? Was he carrying out the whatever it was called, the fatso? The poor driver shook his confused head. He didn’t know who the guy was he had hit. He had just been driving this truck and didn’t know about any fatso. In the end the police believed him and sent him on his way.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Satanic Verses, 1988
A satirical scene shows police questioning a driver about religion after a hit‑and‑run involving the author, exposing absurd bureaucracy and prejudice.
In simple terms: Police focus on religion rather than facts.
Key Takeaway
Question authority and bias.
Themes
bureaucracy
prejudice
absurdity
Mood
critical
satirical
Type
literary
political
When to use this quote
- law enforcement
- media bias
- public perception
Key Concepts
satire
social critique
identity
Questions to Reflect On
- How does bureaucracy obscure truth?
- What role does religion play in bias?
A Different Perspective
May be interpreted as mocking serious issues.
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![“They [terrorists] can’t claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Ummah [global brotherhood]. No, they become heroes of hellfire, and they are leading towards hellfire.” quote by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a1b/muhammad-tahir-ul-qadri-38182_fatwa_they-terrorists-can-t-claim-that-their-s_2355155.jpg)
