The entire British honours system is, of course, outdated and ridiculous. However, until the revolution comes it looks like we’re stuck with it.
And whilst we’re stuck with it, it’s good to see it used it to reward people who stand up for democratic principles like free speech. Which is why I’m very happy to see Salman Rushdie given a knighthood.
I am however disappointed (though not at all surprised) to see the reaction from members of the muslim community. They really need to be challenged on this. The Satanic Verses was published twenty years ago. What do they hope to achieve by dragging out these tired old arguments? They are just embarrassing themselves.
Lloyd points out that some of the UK press coverage of this story has been biased in favour of the muslim point of view and that it gives the impression that this knighthood is in some way controversial.
This award isn’t controversial in any way. Rushdie is a well-respected author and deserves this recognition. Anyone claiming otherwise has a shaky understanding of reality.
The knighthood for Salman Rushdie is controversial, by definition, because opinion is divided on whether he should get it! But my friend is just finishing a PhD concentrating on Rushdie, and apparently he does lots of work supporting free speech and democracy, so he should get it.