Salman Rushdie

An Iranian-born singer who went into hiding after receiving death threats for allegedly insulting a Shiite Muslim saint said Friday he didn't intend to provoke the wrath of religious extremists. Shahin Najafi, who has lived in Germany since 2005, said he plans to keep writing and eventually performing songs despite the threats against him, which appeared in online forums and his email inbox last week. "I'm in a safe place, reading and playing my guitar," he told The Associated Press in a telephone call.

An Iranian-born singer who went into hiding after receiving death threats for allegedly insulting a Shiite Muslim saint said Friday he didn't intend to provoke the wrath of religious extremists. Shahin Najafi, who has lived in Germany since 2005, said he plans to keep writing and eventually performing songs despite the threats against him, which appeared in online forums and his email inbox last week. "I'm in a safe place, reading and playing my guitar," he told The Associated Press in a telephone call.

"Satanic Verses" novelist Salman Rushdie has turned satiric in a series of Twitter feeds about the doomed marriage of reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Kardashian announced this week she was filing for divorce from professional basketball player Kris Humphries after 72 days. Rushdie tweeted late Tuesday: "The marriage of poor kim (pound)kardashian was krushed like a kar in a krashian" "her kris kried, not fair! why kan't I keep my share?" "But kardashian fell klean outa fashian.

Stepping to the microphone at the JFK Library yesterday, Caroline Kennedy had a toothy grin on her face. And why wouldn't she? There, sitting in the first few rows, were Leonard Cohen, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin, Al Kooper, Peter Wolf, and writers Salman Rushdie, Bill Flanagan, Tom Perrotta, and Peter Guralnick. Cohen and Berry had been summoned by PEN New England to accept the group's inaugural Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Awards, and some of the celebrated songwriters' famous friends had come to salute them.

Prominent Muslim clerics in India are asking the government to bar author Salman Rushdie from visiting the country to attend a literary festival because of his 1988 book "The Satanic Verses," which they consider blasphemy. The Darul Uloom seminary's head Maulana Abdul Qasim Nomani said Tuesday that the government should respect the feelings of Muslims and not allow Rushdie to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival that begins Jan. 21. Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged that he be killed for blasphemy because of "The Satanic Verses.

JAIPUR, India - An Indian literary festival canceled a video conference with author Salman Rushdie days after he called off a personal appearance due to protests and threats. Festival organizers decided to cancel the video address to avoid violence by Muslim activists gathered at the Jaipur Literary Festival, said Sanjoy Roy, an organizer. "We have been pushed to the wall. . . . Earlier today, a number of organizations came to us and threatened violence," Roy said. Rushdie said he called off his trip after police told him of a possible assassination threat.

Roll over Beethoven, Chuck Berry is headed to Boston to pick up an award from PEN New England. The writers group has established the Award for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence, and the inaugural recipients are Berry, 85, and Leonard Cohen, 77. PEN New England chairman Richard Hoffman told us yesterday that Berry, the rock 'n' roll pioneer whose hits include "Maybellene" and "Johnny B. Goode," will be at the awards ceremony Feb. 26 at the JFK Library,...

Stepping to the microphone at the JFK Library yesterday, Caroline Kennedy had a toothy grin on her face. And why wouldn't she? There, sitting in the first few rows, were Leonard Cohen, Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin, Al Kooper, Peter Wolf, and writers Salman Rushdie, Bill Flanagan, Tom Perrotta, and Peter Guralnick. Cohen and Berry had been summoned by PEN New England to accept the group's inaugural Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Awards, and some of the celebrated songwriters' famous friends had come to salute...

JAIPUR, India - Booker-Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie canceled plans to appear at an Indian literature festival yesterday after protests from Muslim clerics and warnings that he could be targeted for assassination. Rushdie's planned appearance at the Jaipur Literary Festival had awakened the long dormant controversy over his 1988 book "The Satanic Versus," which some Muslims consider blasphemous. He spent years in hiding after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged he be killed for writing the book, which was also banned in India.

LONDON -- Salman Rushdie , the author of "The Satanic Verses," who was forced into hiding for a decade after the leader of Iran's revolution ordered his assassination, has been made knight, Buckingham Palace announced yesterday. CNN reporter Christianne Amanpour, a KGB double agent, and a man considered Britain's toughest human rights critic were also on the list of honors marking Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday. (The queen turned 81 on April 21, but traditionally celebrates the day in June.)

Rock 'n roll icons Chuck Berry and Leonard Cohen received PEN New England's inaugural award for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence on Sunday. The jury for the award was itself filled with impressive writers, including Bono, Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Paul Muldoon, Smokey Robinson, Salman Rushdie and Paul Simon. Costello, Rushdie, Simon, Keith Richards, Shawn Colvin, Peter Wolf and local novelist Tom Perrotta were all in attendance at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum when the late president's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, opened the ceremony by quoting her father's...

JAIPUR, India - An Indian literary festival canceled a video conference with author Salman Rushdie days after he called off a personal appearance due to protests and threats. Festival organizers decided to cancel the video address to avoid violence by Muslim activists gathered at the Jaipur Literary Festival, said Sanjoy Roy, an organizer. "We have been pushed to the wall. . . . Earlier today, a number of organizations came to us and threatened violence," Roy said. Rushdie said he called off his trip after police told him of a possible assassination threat.

JAIPUR, India - Booker-Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie canceled plans to appear at an Indian literature festival yesterday after protests from Muslim clerics and warnings that he could be targeted for assassination. Rushdie's planned appearance at the Jaipur Literary Festival had awakened the long dormant controversy over his 1988 book "The Satanic Versus," which some Muslims consider blasphemous. He spent years in hiding after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged he be killed for writing the book, which was also banned in India.

Roll over Beethoven, Chuck Berry is headed to Boston to pick up an award from PEN New England. The writers group has established the Award for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence, and the inaugural recipients are Berry, 85, and Leonard Cohen, 77. PEN New England chairman Richard Hoffman told us yesterday that Berry, the rock 'n' roll pioneer whose hits include "Maybellene" and "Johnny B. Goode," will be at the awards ceremony Feb. 26 at the JFK Library,...

Prominent Muslim clerics in India are asking the government to bar author Salman Rushdie from visiting the country to attend a literary festival because of his 1988 book "The Satanic Verses," which they consider blasphemy. The Darul Uloom seminary's head Maulana Abdul Qasim Nomani said Tuesday that the government should respect the feelings of Muslims and not allow Rushdie to attend the Jaipur Literary Festival that begins Jan. 21. Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged that he be killed for...

"Satanic Verses" novelist Salman Rushdie has turned satiric in a series of Twitter feeds about the doomed marriage of reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Kardashian announced this week she was filing for divorce from professional basketball player Kris Humphries after 72 days. Rushdie tweeted late Tuesday: "The marriage of poor kim (pound)kardashian was krushed like a kar in a krashian" "her kris kried, not fair! why kan't I keep my share?" "But kardashian fell klean outa fashian.

Bill Moyers has returned to public television. Again. Despite past forays into network fare, his soul rests in a non profit universe where he can ask big questions of deep thinkers. Which is exactly what he does Friday in the first piece of a seven-part series with writers called "Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason. " This man with the earnest demeanor and the soft Texas twang has, over the years, defined PBS as much as Julia Child and the Cookie Monster . His long conversations with the likes of Joseph Campbell on the subject of myth have made him the premier middle-brow interlocutor to the...

Rock 'n roll icons Chuck Berry and Leonard Cohen received PEN New England's inaugural award for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence on Sunday. The jury for the award was itself filled with impressive writers, including Bono, Rosanne Cash, Elvis Costello, Paul Muldoon, Smokey Robinson, Salman Rushdie and Paul Simon. Costello, Rushdie, Simon, Keith Richards, Shawn Colvin, Peter Wolf and local novelist Tom Perrotta were all in attendance at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum when the late president's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, opened the ceremony by...

John Irving’s career as a novelist began in 1968, with the publication of “Setting Free the Bears.’’ The career of novelist Danny Angel, the main character in Irving’s new novel, “Last Night in Twisted River,’’ spans the same 41 years. This is not a casual gesture on Irving’s part. To further entangle author and character, Irving creates obvious career parallels: Angel becomes an international success in the late 1970s with his fourth novel, as Irving did with his fourth, “The World According to Garp’’; Angel publishes an “abortion novel’’ called “East of Bangor’’ in the...

EDINBURGH -- Al Qaeda's deputy leader threatened a jittery Britain yesterday with more attacks, accusing London of defying the Islamic world by honoring novelist Salman Rushdie. Meanwhile, a man who was engulfed in flames after crashing a Jeep Cherokee loaded with gas cylinders into Glasgow's airport is unlikely to survive his severe burns, according to a doctor who treated him. The tape of a 20-minute speech by Ayman al-Zawahri, Al Qaeda's second in command, surfaced on the Internet amid heightened concern about terrorism in Britain, following the attack last month in Glasgow...