Ayatollah Khomeini and ‘The Satanic Verses’

In response to your editorial “No Safety Behind the Wall” (Feb. 15):

I, of course, agree with your disgust at the bigotry represented by the conduct of many regarding “The Satanic Verses.” But I was startled by your statement, “The Ayatollah Khomeini is no more a religious leader than was the Borgia Pope.” That statement is simply untrue. Both men, by definition, are or were religious leaders. You also noted that, “Such squalid goings-on have as little to do with religion as they have with literature.” Surely you have heard of the squalid, religion-based goings-on in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Northern India, Pakistan, and the list could go on for pages.

History teaches very graphically that religion, no matter what its bent, has never been a wellspring of tolerance for the beliefs of others. By its very nature, religion is an absolute. Honest education and a free society, with all of its imperfections, remain our only hope.

JOHN M. RAHT

Oceanside