Iran Hints Writer’s Apology Would End Death Sentence : Book Ban Imposed in Canada

Iran’s president offered author Salman Rushdie a possible reprieve today from his death sentence by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Tehran’s charge d’affaires in London said the threat was a purely religious statement.

Rushdie, with a $4-million bounty on his head, remained in hiding in Britain, accused by many Muslims of blasphemy against their religion in his novel “The Satanic Verses”.

Iranian president Ali Khamenei told thousands of worshipers chanting “Death to Britain” at Friday prayers in Tehran: “This wretched man has no choice but to die because he has confronted a billion Muslims . . . .

“Of course, he may repent and say ‘I made a blunder’ and apologize to Muslims and the Imam (Khomeini). Then it is possible that the people may pardon him.”

Pitched Battles With Protesters

In northern India police today shot and wounded a youth and fought pitched battles with mobs demanding a global ban on “The Satanic Verses.” Two boys were injured when a small bomb exploded in city of Srinagar.

At protest rallies in Karachi, Pakistan, U.S. flags and Rushdie’s effigy were set on fire after Friday prayers.

The controversy has boosted the book into the best-seller list in the United States, although Waldenbooks, the nation’s largest bookseller, said it had removed it from the shelves to protect staff.

A spokeswoman said, “This is not a freedom-of-speech issue. The sole reason is the protection of our employees. We’ve fought long and hard against censorship. But when it comes to the safety of our employees, one sometimes has to compromise.”

Canada said it had halted new imports of the book until it can decide whether it violates laws banning the dissemination of hate literature. The government agency involved, acting on a complaint from a Muslim group, said it will hold new copies until it can be reviewed, which should take a day or two.

Khamenei’s sermon was the first indication Iran might seek to defuse the furor which has seriously damaged Tehran’s recent efforts to improve relations with the West.

‘Purely Religious Statement’

A second came when Mohammad Basti, Iran’s charge d’affaires in London, said Khomeini’s death threat was a purely religious statement and not interference in Britain’s internal affairs.

“This opinion does not imply any political gesture by Iran, nor does it imply any interference in internal affairs of your country which we have diplomatic relations (with),” Basti said on Britain’s Channel Four television today.

“It is purely a religious statement. I am very surprised that this statement has been misinterpreted in this country,” Basti said.

Asked whether Khomeini’s calls for his followers to kill Rushdie were a command or an opinion, Basti said: “It will depend on the interpretation of the followers.”

The award-winning book at the center of the protests is a surreal novel portraying a struggle between good and evil and probing questions of the Islamic faith. Rushdie has denied it is blasphemous.