There is no question but that the Satanic Verses is indeed "blasphemous" for Moslems, and that Salman Rushdie, as a Moslem (and only a Moslem could have written the book) was aware of this. The question has always been, what is the right response which people should make when a book is published which is blasphemous in terms of their religion and felt as deeply offensive.

I think that most people would agree that the way that book burning and threats of death are not the right way, and that that response did a great deal of harm, not least to Moslems. It is right to challenge that response. But what is not right is to underestimate the extent of the sense of injury which induced it. That sense of injury was felt by Moslems who are in no way extreme, including those who are horrified at then very notion of death threats.