How one book ignited a culture war

It's 20 years since Iran's religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced a death sentence on Salman Rushdie for 'insulting' Islam with his novel The Satanic Verses. The repercussions were profound - and are still being felt. Andrew Anthony traces the course of the affair, from book-burnings and firebombings to the dramatic impact it had on freedom of expression in a multicultural society .

Salman Rushdie (pic above right) wins the 1988 Whitbread Award. Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

Story by Andrew Anthony writing in The Observer, Sunday 11 January 2009 .
Read the full piece here.