Salman Rushdie says Palestinian state “right now” would create “Taliban-like state”
Indian-British author, Salman Rushdie, was in the middle of controversy on Monday due to his comments on the Israeli Occupation war on Gaza while speaking with German national broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB).
While commenting on the uprising of pro-Palestine university encampments, Rushdie stated that the formation of a Palestinian state “right now” would create a “Taliban-like state.”
Rushdie mentioned "student upheaval" at New York University (NYU), where he teaches. He expressed mixed feelings about the protests, acknowledging students' right to demonstrate but emphasizing the need to ensure that other students do not feel unsafe.
“I would just like some of the protesters to mention Hamas because that is where this started. And Hamas is a terrorist organization. It is very strange for young, progressive student politics to kind of support a fascist, terrorist group,” he continued. “Is that what the progressive movements of the western left wish to create? To have another Taliban, another Ayatollah-like state, in the Middle East, right next to Israel?”
Rushdie’s statements came as a shock to many. The author is well-known for his liberal, humanist, and secular ideologies. Rushdie’s own experience with the fatwa issued against him following the publication of his book, "The Satanic Verses", has made him a prominent figure in the fight for political liberalism, anti-extremism, and anti-colonialism.
Salman Rushdie--spouting embarrassing sycophantic nonsense even for him--being interviewed in rightwing German tabloids and being posted approvingly by Israeli officials.
— Priyamvada Gopal (@PriyamvadaGopal) May 21, 2024
What a come down for a man who once, long ago, wrote brilliant piercing political fiction.
Cultural elites like Salman Rushdie and Zadie Smith need to defend the Western liberal hegemonic world order even if it includes a literal genocide because this is the system that rewards them. They are part of the structure of imperialist dominance https://t.co/NuP5CF3Bun
— Anita Zsurzsan (@iamjourjean) May 20, 2024
