The Satanic Verses (Historical Context)

Historical Context

Britain in the 1980s

Rushdie was living in London when he wrote The Satanic Verses, and 1980s London is also the main historical context of the novel. Throughout the 1980s, the conservative Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of England. Known for her policies of reducing government spending on everything except defense, as well as privatizing government-controlled industries, Thatcher was ideologically akin to the American President Ronald Reagan.

The early 1980s in England were marked by rising unemployment, but Thatcher’s government remained popular and won the 1983 election largely because of Britain’s involvement in the Falklands War. Argentina, which had long claimed ownership over the British territorial islands on its shores, sent forces to the island in 1982, and Thatcher responded by sending a British naval task force that defeated the Argentines.

After the 1983 election, Thatcher presided uncompromisingly over a series of domestic disturbances beginning with the Miner’s Strike of 1984 – 85. Because the government announced that it was closing twenty large mines, and because unions were concerned about Thatcher’s actions to reduce their power, the unsuccessful strike began and went on for nearly a year amidst police violence and intimidation. Meanwhile, in the fall of 1985, a series of confrontations between white police officers and predominantly black youths began in London and Birmingham. Two possible causes of these violent confrontations were the difficult economic circumstances, and the conservatism and intolerance of the British government.

India in the 1980s

The party of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru (the first prime minister of independent India), was elected back into power in 1980. Gandhi had a series of key meetings with foreign leaders, while dealing with several insurgencies in India. She was assassinated by her own Sikh bodyguards in 1984 because of her previous decision to storm a sacred Sikh temple in Punjab that was being held by insurgents. Also in 1984, the infamous industrial disaster occurred in Bhopal, India, when the Union Carbide pesticide plant located near the city leaked toxic gas that killed thousands of people and injured hundreds of thousands.

The Satanic Verses

Rushdie’s novel is brimming with allusions to historical and contemporary events, philosophies, and people, but perhaps the most important extended reference in the novel is to several verses that Satan allegedly tricked Muhammad into including in the Qur’an, and which Muhammed later expunged from the Islamic holy text. The main source for the controversial story, which is rejected by nearly all major Muslim scholars, is the biography of Muhammad by the Arabian historian Ibn Ishaq, written 120 – 130 years after the prophet’s death. Now available only in a heavily revised version, the biography claims that Muhammad included verses of revelation that accepted the divinity of three pagan goddesses of Mecca. Gratified, Meccans ceased their persecution of the prophet until the Angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and instructed him that the verses were profane. Muhammad took back his words, claiming they were inspired by Satan, and instructed his scribes (Muhammad is said to have been unable to read or write) to remove the verses from the Qur’an. The incident is so sensitive amongst Muslims because the belief that the Qur’an is an infallible transcription of God’s word is at the heart of the religion.

Compare & Contrast

• 1980s: Margaret Thatcher, known for her inflexible, conservative beliefs, is prime minister of Britain.
  Today: Tony Blair, the leader of the Labor Party who pioneered the “New Labor” movement, embracing a degree of privatization, has been the British prime minister since 1997.
• 1980s: Militant Islamic fundamentalism is gathering force in the Arab world. The United States government is providing arms and training to Osama bin Laden and his group of Muslim fighters in the Afghan War against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
  Today: Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Western countries have adopted new attitudes towards foreign policy, partly to attempt to address Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations.
• 1980s: Jim Henson’s Muppets, which satirize politicians and celebrities, are trendy and popular in the Western entertainment world. Bombay’s “Bollywood” film scene has an enormous number of devoted viewers in India.
  Today: Animated satires like The Simpsons are one of the most popular forms of television entertainment in Britain and the United States. Although Western entertainment is more accessible in India than it was twenty years ago, Bollywood continues to be extremely popular.
• 1980s: Salman Rushdie goes into hiding after the Iranian fatwa condemns him to death.
  Today: Publicly “pardoned” by the Iranian government, Rushdie lives openly and attends many public events, although he does continue to employ bodyguards.