Fatwa

BBC Radio 4

4.4 (39)
GOVERNMENT

The hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushdie.

02/14/2019

10. Postscript

How The Satanic Verses affair affected freedom of speech. This ten-part series tells the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and recent attack on him, and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and cotemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight

17 min
02/13/2019

9. I've Got a Problem Here

Violence inspired by the fatwa spreads to Norway, This ten-part series tells the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and recent attack on him, and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight

16 min
02/12/2019

8. The Dentist

How Salman Rushdie publicly reaffirmed his Muslim faith in 1990. This ten-part series tells the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Sir Salman - the forces which led to the death sentence and recent attack on him, and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight

16 min
02/11/2019

7. The Mullah Boys

How the Rushdie controversy drew some towards violent jihadism. This ten-part series tells the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and recent attack on him, and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight

14 min
02/10/2019

6. Are You With Us?

How The Satanic Verses affair forced individuals to choose a side. This ten-part series tells the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and recent attack on him, and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019 and this episode contains strong discriminatory language. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight

14 min
02/07/2019

5. What’s a Fatwa?

How Salman Rushdie was forced into hiding in 1989. This ten-part series tells the hidden story of the fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and recent attack on him, and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019. The programme contains strong discriminatory language. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight This episode includes a clip of Salman Rushdie speaking to Channel 4 in 1993.

17 min
02/06/2019

4. You Heard That Right

Did two British men persuade Ayatollah Khomenei to issue the fateful fatwa? This ten-part series tells the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the recent attack on him - and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019. For more information and other views on the story, producer Chloe Hadjimatheou has written an article for the BBC News website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-62561895 Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight This episode includes a clip from ‘Oshin’ produced by NHK.

14 min
02/05/2019

3. It’s Not Easy to Burn a Book

British Muslims protest against the publication of The Satanic Verses. Fatwa is a ten-part series telling the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and the recent attack on him - and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019. This episode contains strong discriminatory language. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight

14 min
02/04/2019

1. Love Thy Neighbour

The hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - exploring the forces which led to the death sentence, the recent attack on Sir Salman and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. This ten-part series was originally broadcast in 2019 and this episode includes strong discriminatory language. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight This episode includes clips from Love Thy Neighbour (a Thames Television production for the ITV network) and My Beautiful Laundrette (directed by Stephen Frears, produced by Working Title Films) as well as clips from the BBC’s own archive.

14 min
02/04/2019

2. Revolutions

Ayatollah Khomeini's rise to power - and the decision to publish The Satanic Verses. Fatwa is a ten-part series telling the hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie - the forces which led to the death sentence and recent attack on him - and the consequences for all of us. The series covers a 20-year period from 1979 to 1999 and explores race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. It was originally broadcast in 2019 and this episode contains strong discriminatory language. Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou Presenters: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Mobeen Azhar Editor: Richard Knight

14 min
01/30/2019

Welcome to Fatwa

The hidden story of the 1989 fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushdie, focussing not on the writer’s ordeal but on the forces which led to the fatwa and the consequences of it for all of us. The series covers a 20 year period from 1979 to 1999, exploring race relations in Britain, identity, free speech and the connection between the 1989 fatwa and contemporary violent jihad. A gripping story-led 10-part series featuring some extraordinary voices including from often overlooked British communities

2 min

11 Episodes

4.4

out of 5

39 Ratings

excellent

02/02/2020

berliner1000

I learned a lot. Thank you.
Epic

05/20/2019

Jack_McCoy

Short, effective episodes. Raises some tough questions and tells a really interesting story about censorship and religious + artistic freedom. As a history fan this scratched that itch as well.
Why such short episodes?

03/20/2019

The Smitty Smitty

The whole story is super interesting. The reason for the low review is due to its 14 minute long episodes that have long intros and spoilers on the next episode. The formatting is irritating. The whole of the ten episodes could have been done in two long episodes. It would have kept it interesting. Instead it’s bogged down by short episodes with too much fat.