Salman Rushdie: Heretic or Rebel?

Abstract

As Salman Rushdie was accused of heresy, this paper weighs the pros and cons of previous heresy cases in Islamic history to demonstrate that very often religious dissent was confounded with political dissent and even treason. Any form of dissent was considered “unorthodox” and therefore “heretical” and punishable by death. The distinction between “the heretic” and “the rebel,” both of which were used interchangeably, was often dimmed on purpose.