Editing Salman Rushdie (section)

====Against religious extremism====
In the wake of the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons controversy]] in March 2006 Rushdie signed the manifesto ''Together Facing the New Totalitarianism'', a statement warning of the dangers of [[religious extremism]]. The Manifesto was published in the left-leaning French weekly ''[[Charlie Hebdo]]'' in March 2006.<ref>{{cite news|date=1 March 2006|title=Writers issue cartoon row warning|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4763520.stm|access-date=19 February 2014|archive-date=31 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131004236/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4763520.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> When [[Amnesty International]] suspended human rights activist [[Gita Sahgal]] for saying to the press that she thought the organization should distance itself from [[Moazzam Begg]] and his organization, Rushdie said:<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7034773.ece Salman Rushdie's statement on Amnesty International] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601171433/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7034773.ece |date=1 June 2010 }}, ''The Sunday Times'', 21 February 2010</ref> <blockquote>Amnesty…has done its reputation incalculable damage by allying itself with Moazzam Begg and his group [[Cageprisoners]], and holding them up as human rights advocates. It looks very much as if Amnesty's leadership is suffering from a kind of [[moral bankruptcy]], and has lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong. It has greatly compounded its error by suspending the redoubtable Gita Sahgal for the crime of going public with her concerns. Gita Sahgal is a woman of immense integrity and distinction. ... It is people like Gita Sahgal who are the true voices of the human rights movement; Amnesty and Begg have revealed, by their statements and actions, that they deserve our contempt.</blockquote>

In July 2020, Rushdie was one of the 153 signers of the "Harper's Letter", also known as "[[A Letter on Justice and Open Debate]]", that expressed concern that "the free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted."<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=7 July 2020 |title=A Letter on Justice and Open Debate {{!}} Harper's Magazine |url=https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |magazine=Harper's Magazine |language=en |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521055003/https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In October 2023, Rushdie expressed his "horror" at both [[Hamas]]' [[2023 Hamas attack on Israel|attack on Israel]] and [[Israel]]'s [[Gaza war|retaliation]] in the [[Gaza Strip]] and called for a "cessation in hostilities".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231020-rushdie-says-filled-with-foreboding-at-israel-hamas-war |title=Rushdie urges end to fighting between Israel and Hamas |date=20 October 2023 |agency=France 24 |access-date=24 October 2023 |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030021616/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231020-rushdie-says-filled-with-foreboding-at-israel-hamas-war |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2024, Rushdie argued that if a Palestinian state ever came into being, it would resemble a "[[Taliban]]-like state" and become a client state of Iran. He further stated, "There's an emotional reaction to the death in Gaza, and that's absolutely right. But when it slides over towards antisemitism and sometimes to actual support of Hamas, then it's very problematic." He voiced his puzzlement regarding the current support of progressive students for what he described as a "fascist terrorist group".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Perry |first1=Kevin E G |title=Salman Rushdie says a new Palestinian state would be 'Taliban-like' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/salman-rushdie-palestine-israel-hamas-b2548290.html |access-date=22 May 2024 |publisher=INDEPENDENT |date=20 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2024-05-20 |title=Salman Rushdie says a Palestinian state formed today would be 'Taliban-like' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/20/salman-rushdie-says-a-palestinian-state-formed-today-would-be-taliban-like |access-date=2024-05-22 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jackson |first=James |date=2024-05-19 |title=A free Palestine would be a Taliban-like state, says Salman Rushdie |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/19/palestine-taliban-like-state-salman-rushdie-taliban-knife/ |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref>