Ayatollah Khomeini and ‘The Satanic Verses’

I’ve got my order in for a copy of “The Satanic Verses” and I’m pleased to say my bookseller tells me there is a long list of waiting buyers.

I’ll wait. It was 30-odd years before I finally got around to reading “The Last Temptation of Christ” and what a wonderful discovery it was. It taught me more about the profound meaning of Christ the man and myth than all the turgid sermons I ever heard before I finally gave up looking for any sense or spirituality in churches as a young man.

I eagerly look forward to learning something about Islam that isn’t filtered through the twisted megalomania of a power-mad old imam or, even worse, through the self-righteous “moderate” high priests who don’t necessarily want to kill the author but would stop any of us from making our own choices by banning the book.

And by the way, shame on those booksellers who so quickly ducked their heads in the sand.

KENNETH GALE

Los Angeles