Iran Boycotts Frankfurt Book Fair in Protest Against Rushdie's Presence

The Iranian Ministry of Culture has announced a boycott of the Frankfurt Book Fair due to Salman Rushdie's speech at its opening ceremony, stating that the invitation to the British author of 'The Satanic Verses' would give extremists and anti-Islamic groups a pretext to achieve their illegitimate goals. In its official statement, the ministry also called on Islamic countries to take a stand against the 'provocative' invitation of Mr. Rushdie to the Frankfurt Book Fair. Meanwhile, Reza Salehi Amiri, head of the National Library and Archives Organization, announced on Thursday, October 8, that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has expressed its objections to the German government and 'other authorities' of the Frankfurt Book Fair regarding this matter. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mr. Salehi Amiri emphasized that Salman Rushdie's presence would, in his words, 'pollute the cultural atmosphere' of the Frankfurt Book Fair. Salman Rushdie was sentenced to death 26 years ago by Ayatollah Khomeini, the former leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, due to the publication of his fictional book 'The Satanic Verses'. The organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair have invited him to speak at the opening ceremony of the 2015 fair next Tuesday about his new book titled 'Two Years, Eight Months, and Twenty-Eight Nights'. 'Two Years, Eight Months, and Twenty-Eight Nights' is Mr. Rushdie's twelfth novel and the first he has published in the past seven years. In September 2013, he published a memoir titled 'Joseph Anton', which also included events following the publication of 'The Satanic Verses'. The Frankfurt Book Fair is considered the most prestigious and largest book fair in the world. Amirshahriar Aminian, director of Andisheh Varzan Publishing, had previously claimed in an interview that Iran was not allowed to participate in the Frankfurt Book Fair until 1997 due to Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa.