Terrorism is such a fact of modern life that it figures in numerous novels about international relations; its tendency to victimize people who have no idea of what is going on makes it particularly useful as a symbol of the chaotic nature of modern societies, especially modern technology. Salmon Rushdie uses it to trigger the plot of The Satanic Verses (1988; see separate entry); protagonists Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha meet when their Air-India airliner is hijacked and blown up by Sikh terrorists.
Author Rushdie himself became an example of victims of terrorism when the leader of a nation, Iran, that funded terrorists took exception to his satire and issued a death sentence on him, offering to pay money to anyone who killed Rushdie. Writing about terrorists and the cultures that spawn them can be.....
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