Writers Taslima Nasrin and Salman Rushdie continue to be the targets of Islamic death threats. Their cases remind us all that enlightened secularism is a necessary social condition for free expression -- and the right to question religious superstition.

hroughout the Middle East, Islamic militants continue their calls for execution of "infidel" writers Taslima Nasrin and Salman Rushdie. The cases involving both authors have attracted international attention in recent weeks, although coverage in the American news media has been minimal. Rushdie still is under a "fatwa" or death sentence pronounced by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, for the publication of his 1989 novel "The Satanic Verses." Nasrin, an outspoken feminist-atheist from Bangladesh, has been ordered arrested for "blasphemy." When she returned to her native land last month to care for her ill mother, Islamic groups began demanding her arrest, prosecution and execution.

   ¶    Late last week, Nasrin -- who continues to elude a government hunt -- gave her first broadcast interview since slipping back into the country, and talked with the BBC. She appealed for government protection from Islamic militants who have been demonstrating throughout the country. The French newspaper Le Monde also published an appeal from Nasrin titled "Help!", in which the embattled author pleaded, "In this desperate situation, with my mother sick, I need protection."

Taslima Nasrin is the target of Islamic intimidation because she spoke out on behalf of rights for women, and an end to rule by religious law

   Last week, a court in Dhaka ordered the arrest of Ms. Nasrin, reviving a 1994 case in which she was accused of insulting religious belief in her book "Nirbachito Kolumn" (Selected Column). In that and subsequent works, she has called for rights for women, justified the right of consenting adults to have sexual relations outside of marriage, and urged the replacement of Koranic religious law by secular institutions. Islamists have charged that she is an agent of the devil and has committed blasphemy against the Moslem religion and its prophet, Mohammed. Since 1994, Nasrin has been in self-imposed exile in Sweden, but she has visited Germany and even the United States.

    Nasrin's attorney, who according to Reuters' news service "declined to be identified," said that he had sent the Bangladesh government a petition on his clients behalf on Saturday. Home Secretary Shafiur Rahman, however, said that he was unaware of the document. Nasrin's lawyer said that she required guarantees of her safety "from the fanatics, for coming out in the open and for facing law."

    "Her personal safety is a matter of serious concern, she is hiding not for fear of law but for fear of those raising a sword at her."

    The Sahaba Sainik Parishad Islamic group has now offered a reward of 100,000 taka (about $2,127) to anyone who captures Nasrin and turns her over to the government. But yesterday, a spokesman for the militant Islamic Oikyo Jote (Islamic Unity Alliance) was blunter: Maulana Fazlul Huq Amini declared that Nasrin was an "infidel" who should be hanged, and had no right to remain alive. " Earlier, Huq Amini had described her as "a Satan who dared to speak out against Islam and its Prophet Mohammed."

    There is legal confusion, though, surrounding Nasrin's case and her 1994 arrest warrant. Technically, Bangladesh does not have a "blasphemy" law, and officials have been evasive as to why they are hunting the novelist. Government officials assured reporters over the weekend that "We are aware of human rights," according to Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad, who added that he disapproves of the "excesses" of both Nasrin and the Islamic militants.

    Over the weekend, in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, police fired tear gas into a crowd of fundamentalists calling for the arrest and death of Nasrin. BBC World Service said that about two-hundred people were involved in the demonstration. Other press sources report that at least 20 persons were injured in the Sunday riot in the town of Barisal.

   ¶    "Blasphemy" and the right to express opinions which run counter to religious dogma is also an issue in the case of writer Salman Rushdie. In recent days, there have been highly inaccurate reports (mostly in American media) that the Iranian government has "forgotten" the 1989 death sentence on Rushdie pronounced by the late Ayatollah Khomeini, that that a significant thaw in relations between Iran and the West is underway. We have urged caution and skepticism about the comments by Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, and noted that his statements concerning the Rushdie case have been vague, and appear to not reflect anything near a consensus within his own government. Added to this are disturbing declarations by Islamic groups both within and outside of Iran that they will continue to seek Rushdie's execution.

Novelist Salman Rushdie -- another target for Islamic hooliganism. Muslim activists still call for his death.

    Iranian state television is now reporting that 150 of 270 members of the Government parliament or Majilis have now reaffirmed the fatwa against Mr. Rushdie. A statement from the representatives noted, "We assure Muslims all over the world that nothing except the decrees issued by God and the exalted Imam Khomeini in Iran have any credibility and no-one (sic) has the power to follow any other path."

    Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi also clarified his stand on the Rushdie matter, telling the BBC, "We did not adopt a new position with regard to the apostate Salman Rushdie, and our position remains the same as that which has been repeated stated by the Islamic republic of Iran's officials."

Learn more about the Rushdie case and the Islamic superstition.

    The British government continued to display an upbeat attitude, however. UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has repeated the call for better relations between Europe and the Moslem world, and said that he rejected the idea of a "clash of civilizations" between the two. In an address to the Labour Party, Cook said that recent statements by President Khatami signal "a fresh start with Iran and with the wider Islamic world."

    The "clash of civilizations" idea was enunciated by political scientist Samuel Huntington earlier in this decade in an influential book of the same name. Huntington has suggested that with the demise of the bipolar conflicts which characterized the cold war, a new geopolitical configuration is emerging which emphasizes differences based on ethnicity, language, identity and religious faith.

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