Demonstration against Salman Rushdie book

Title

Demonstration against Salman Rushdie book

Genre

News report; Interview; Speech

TX Date

27 May 1989

Year of production

1989

Play audio

To listen to the audio files, please log in.

Duration

00:02:59

Description

Police in riot gear were called in when violent clashes broke out during a demonstration by twenty thousand Muslims who marched on Downing Street in a protest against Salman Rushdie’s book, The Satanic Verses. More than a hundred protesters were arrested and eighteen police officers injured. Pensioner Barbara Smoker, campaigning for freedom of speech, states her position in the face of hostility from the crowd; Tanzeem Wasti, Secretary General of the UK Islamic Mission, explains the reasons behind the demonstration. Eve Conway reports.

Contributors

Barbara Smoker; Eve Conway; Tanzeem Wasti

Keywords

Books; Authors; Iran; London; Religion; International relations; Demonstrations; Freedom of expression; Policing practice; Novels; Islam; Muslims; Salman Rushdie; Ruhollah Khomeini; The Satanic Verses; Controversial literature; UK Islamic Mission

The copyright of audio recordings in the LBC / IRN Digitisation Archive is owned by Global Radio UK Ltd.