Bibliography – My Writings on Salman Rushdie and the Rushdie Rules

I have written articles, blogs, and a book on the topic of freedom of speech in the West concerning Islam and related topics, starting with Salman Rushdie and the Rushdie affair of 1989. Here they are, in chronological order, with updates as needed. (February 2, 2006)

1. "The Ayatollah, the Novelist [Salman Rushdie], and the West." Commentary, June 1989. A preview of The Rushdie Affair book that appeared in 1990.
2. "Political Islam in Europe, Pluralism in Peril." Reason, July 1989. Europe faces a deep choice, whether to maintain its principles or not.
3. "[Salman Rushdie affair:] How to sell a book and live dangerously." Philadelphia Inquirer, August 24, 1989. A general assessment of the situation a half-year after the crisis.
4. "'Satanic' Edict Still Bedevils Free Speech." Wall Street Journal. September 26, 1989. How the Rushdie affair has led to censorship - including of me.
5. The Rushdie Affair: The Novel, the Ayatollah, and the West. New York: Birch Lane, 1990. Paperback edition: New Delhi: Voice of India, 1998. Second Edition: New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction, 2003. Surveys the events in 1989 surrounding the publication of The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie and the resulting death edict by Ayatollah Khomeini. Many of the issues in the Rushdie episode – mocking Muhammad, freedom of speech, blasphemy, imposing Islamic norms on the West – foreshadowed those arising in the current crisis. The second edition includes an afterword by Konraad Elst that brings the story of Islamic censorship forward.
6. "Liberal Muslims[ and the Rushdie Affair]: Battered but Not Mute." Newsday, May 31, 1990. Gives voice to Muslims who opposed the Khomeini edict.
7. "Rushdie Fails to Move the Zealots." Los Angeles Times. December 28, 1990. Appeasing the Islamists will do Rushdie no good.
8. "Should Salman Rushdie Be Afraid? Is He?" December 28, 1990. A review of "Rushdie's breezy statements of optimism and invulnerability, the threats against him, and my warnings to him."
9. "Little Forgiveness Likely for Rushdie." Daily Telegraph (London), December 29, 1990. The author of a fantasy book is himself engaging in fantasies about escaping his predicament. Updates quote later instances warning Rushdie not to delude himself into thinking Khomeini's edict against him had lapsed.
10. "Mr. Clinton's Meeting with Salman Rushdie Sent the Wrong Signals." Washington Times, December 8, 1993. Argues that Rushdie's White House visit was a mistake.
11. Review of Allen Douglas and Fedwa Malti-Douglas, "Arabic Comic Strips: Politics of an Emerging Mass Culture." Middle East Quarterly, March 1995. An excellent interpretation of Arabic comics, stripping away their externals and revealing their underlying messages.
12. "[Hebron Pig Poster Incident:] How Clinton Adheres to the 'Rushdie Rules.'" Forward, July 25, 1997. Looks in depth at the U.S. government response to an earlier pictorial attack on Muhammad. I first used the term "Rushdie rules" in this article.
13. "Egypt's Problem with Ranan Lurie." Middle East Quarterly, September 1997. The story of an Israeli-born political cartoonist's brief and unhappy experience with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.
14. "Is Salman Rushdie a Free Man?" Daniel Pipes, Policywatch, October 2, 1998. Argues that Rushdie is not as safe as he thinks he is.
15. "Salman Rushdie's Delusion, and Ours [about His Safety]." Commentary, December 1998. A longer, more elaborated version of the prior item.
16. "Muhammad as a Perfect Human." A section of an article, "[Al-Hudaybiya and] Lessons from the Prophet Muhammad's Diplomacy." Middle East Quarterly, September 1999. Explains the special Muslim affection for Muhammad and the historic Christian enmity toward him.
17. "The United States Government: Patron of Islam?" (with Mimi Stillman). Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2002. Shows how Islam "now enjoys a privileged place in Washington, just as it does in almost every capital around the world."
18. "Away with Crucifixes, Crosses, and Christmas." DanielPipes.org, August 14, 2002. How Muslim immigrants in the West extrude Christian practices.
19. "Something Rotten in Denmark?" (with Lars Hedegaard). New York Post, August 27, 2002. A review of the problems associated with Muslim immigration in Denmark, with many interesting readers' comments.
20. "The West Stands Up for Its Customs." DanielPipes.org, October 10, 2002. Examples of Westerners who stand up for their traditional culture.
21. "Lamyaa Hashim, Supporting Burqas and Suicide Bombers." DanielPipes.org, January 18, 2004. Notes the implications of an Islamist protesting a cartoon.
22. "Salman Rushdie, Man of the Left." DanielPipes.org, August 10, 2004. The author has reverted to his old foolish ways.
23. "Amazon.com's Koran Desecration Problem." FrontPageMag.com, May 20, 2005. A detailed look at one supposed incident concerning the purchase of a used Koran.
24. "Michael Isikoff, Meet Salman Rushdie." DanielPipes.org, May 20, 2005. An historical evaluation of the Koran-flushing-at-Guantánamo incident.
25. "Finding Allah in Unlikely Places." DanielPipes.org, September 16, 2005. A review of some incidents of alleged desecration of "Allah" in Arabic script.
26. "Islam Dispatches Santa, the Bible, and Winnie the Pooh." DanielPipes.org, October 3, 2005. Examples of items proscribed in the West under the influence of Muslim immigrant pressure.
27. "My role in the Danish cartoon affair." DanielPipes.org, February 6, 2006. Dispels the conspiracy theory that I had a role in the decision by Jyllands-Posten to commission or publish the cartoons concerning the Muslim prophet Muhammad.
28. "Cartoons and Islamic Imperialism." New York Sun, February 7, 2006. My interpretation of the Danish cartoon crisis, as part of an effort to impose Shari'a law on the West.
29. "[Participant in a symposium on] The Clash to End All Clashes?" National Review Online, February 7, 2006. Argues against the clash-of-civilizations thesis.
30. "How the Cartoon Protests Harm Muslims." New York Sun, February 14, 2006. Argues in favor of a "separation of civilizations" theory.
31. "Those Danish Cartoons and Me." New York Sun, February 21, 2006. How conspiracy theorists dragged me into the Muhammad cartoon furor.
32. "Danish Cartoon Aftershocks." DanielPipes.org, April 15, 2006. Occasional news on a crisis past.
33. "Admitting Censorship due to Islamist Intimidation." DanielPipes.org, April 20, 2006. Rare acknowledgments of the real reason why Islamic topics are avoided.
34. "Intimidating the West, from Rushdie to Benedict." New York Sun, September 26, 2006. Background to the furor over Pope Benedict's Regensburg statement.
35. "Salman Rushdie and British Backbone." New York Sun, June 26, 2007. Disputes the notion that the knighting of Rushdie has significance.
36. "Khomeini vs. Rushdie, Two Decades Later." DanielPipes.org, February 14, 2009. A look-back after twenty years.
37. "'Rushdie Rules' Reach Florida." Washington Times, September 21, 2010. A look at Pastor Terry Jones burning Korans.
38. "Two Decades of the Rushdie Rules." Commentary, October 2010. Reviews changes for the worse vis-à-vis Western freedoms to discuss Islam.
39. "Late Breaking Rushdie-Rule Developments." DanielPipes.org, October 1, 2010. Updates on the preceding Commentary article.
40. "Bush Administration Disapproved Muhammad Cartoon Reprinting." DanielPipes.org, December 29, 2010. Four years after the Danish cartoon crisis, WikiLeaks reveals the inside story.
41. "Another Islamist Assault, Another Western Cringe." Boston Herald, September 13, 2012. Looks at the response to the "Innocence of Muslims" video.
42. "The Rushdie Fatwa 25 Years Later." National Review Online, February 14, 2014. A brief review on a notable anniversary.
43. "The Rushdie Affair Revisited." Powerline, August 17, 2022. Replies to questions about Rushdie and the stabbing on Aug. 12.
44. "Salman Rushdie Was Never Safe." Spectator, August 19, 2022. Documents 32 years of statements by Rushdie hoping and pretending he was safe from Islamists. Hopes the world will learn from his delusion.
45. "Why the Death Edict on Salman Rushdie? The death edict was neither about rivalries nor geopolitics." Summarizes an argument from The Rushdie Affair: Rushdie's "title had an incendiary effect. More than anything else, his apparently innocent choice of title explains why so many Muslims responded with fury to what would otherwise have been just another novel."