Sir Salman

My sensativity button has, strangely enough, been acting up lately. My sanctimony sensors however, have been working fine.

Tasnim Aslam, of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, told journalists in Islamabad: "Salman Rushdie has been a controversial figure who is known less for his literary contribution and more for his offensive and insulting writing which deeply hurts the sentiments of Muslims all over the world. Conferment of a knighthood on Salman Rushdie shows an utter lack of sensitivity on the part of the British government."
The Independent UK, 6/20/07

I would say to Mr. Aslam that in the west Sir Salman is known more for his literary contributions and less for his offensive and insulting writing.

His accolades include:

James Tait Black Memorial Prize (Fiction)
Arts Council Writers' Award
English-Speaking Union Award
Booker of Bookers or the best novel among the Booker Prize winners for Fiction
Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger
Whitbread Novel Award (twice)
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Children's Fiction
Kurt Tucholsky Prize (Sweden)
Prix Colette (Switzerland)
State Prize for Literature (Austria)
Author of the Year (British Book Awards)
Author of the Year (Germany)
Mantua Prize (Italy)
Premio Grinzane Cavour (Italy)
Hutch Crossword Fiction Prize (India)
India Abroad Lifetime Achievement Award (USA)
Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Humanism (Harvard University)
Aristeion Prize (European Union)

That a few 'government sanctioned' rent-a-crowd crazies hit the streets at any perceived slight against Islam by the west is becoming really tiresome.