高清福利片

Former Malaysian Prime Minister听听is famous for his听听to other world leaders. In March 1989, Mahathir wrote a letter to then UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that was blunt even by his standards. Unlike a lot of his听, this one wasn鈥檛 published.

Mahathir鈥檚 letter was about Salman Rushdie鈥檚 controversial book, The Satanic Verses. He wrote:

"I do not think I am a Muslim fanatic. Yet I find I cannot condone the writings of Salman Rushdie in his book [鈥�] And I find the attitude of the 鈥淲estern Democracies鈥� most patronising, arrogant and insensitive."

In 2019, the UK government declassified many of its Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) files on the diplomatic upheaval over the novel. Mahathir鈥檚 letter to Thatcher is one of hundreds of unpublished diplomatic documents I have seen in visits to the UK National Archives since then.

My full analysis of this letter, and Thatcher鈥檚 response to it, has just been published in the听. It is part of a larger project I am working on about The Satanic Verses crisis and what it tells us about the place of religion in international relations.

鈥楾he strangest and rarest crisis in history鈥�

, published in late 1988, was met with protests throughout the Muslim world, beginning in South Asian communities in Britain.听听Rushdie had insulted the Prophet Muhammad for the entertainment of Western audiences.

In early 1989, Iranian Supreme Leader听听issued an extraordinary听听calling for the death of Rushdie, a British citizen living in London. This led to a听听that the speaker of Iran鈥檚 legislature called 鈥溾��.

Khomeini, who was seeking to strengthen Islamic hardliners in Iran, urged 鈥渁ll zealous Muslims鈥� to carry out his fatwa.

No other leader of a majority Muslim country supported the death sentence, which blatantly violated Britain鈥檚 sovereignty and international law. But Mahathir and others felt Western powers should ban The Satanic Verses to maintain good relations with the Muslim world.

The British government saw no reason to ban it. Rushdie and his publishers had broken no British law, as the country鈥檚听听applied only to the听.

Defending Rushdie鈥檚 life was, as Thatcher put it, 鈥渁 simple matter鈥�. Her government would not tolerate an Iranian incitement to murder a British citizen on British soil.

Defending his book, however, was more complicated. The British government would not ban it, but also wanted nothing to do with it.

An unusually strong and personal letter

On March 15 1989, Thatcher and Mahathir met in London to discuss matters such as arms deals and airport privatisation. The Satanic Verses issue came up only briefly, when Thatcher thanked Mahathir for his government鈥檚 鈥渕oderate鈥� stance on the book. She explained that while she could understand the offence the book had caused, the 鈥済reat religions鈥� could withstand such attacks.

Mahathir reassured Thatcher his government would take no action beyond banning the book. He said he had set out his personal views on the affair in a letter, which he handed to Thatcher.

奥丑别苍听听opened the letter later that day, he found it was 鈥渃ast in exceptionally strong language that was not reflected in Dr Mahathir鈥檚 demeanour at the meeting itself鈥�, according to another archival letter.

Mahathir was having none of the argument that Muslims should behave more like Christians when it came to tolerating insults to their faith. He wrote:

"It is well to remember that Islam has been around only 1,400 years. The faith and fervour of the Muslims are as strong as the faith and fanaticism of the Christians of the 15th century.

"Of course, our behaviour is also influenced by the mores of the time. We are more tolerant than the 15th century Christians. We do not have inquisitions, we do not burn heretics at the stake, we do not torture those who blaspheme, we do not hound the new Muslim sects as you did the Protestants, and we do not indulge in pogroms. Our behaviour is more civilised than Christians when Christianity was 1,400 years old."

Mahathir鈥檚 letter was very unusual for a diplomatic correspondence in that it did not mention either Malaysia or Britain. The 鈥渨e鈥� of his letter referred to Muslims, while the 鈥測ou鈥� referred to the West.

And the West, for Mahathir, was a Christian world, though he believed Christianity was enfeebled and decaying within it. He did not want Islam to suffer the same fate.

"The West controls the world media and denies others access to it. The power is, of course, abused. [鈥�] The Muslims are a particular target. They are made out to be cruel brutes given to all kinds of savagery."

While the West claimed to believe in freedom of expression, according to Mahathir, it did not allow Muslims to defend themselves against what they considered 鈥渟currilous misrepresentation鈥�. Rushdie鈥檚 book was the final straw.

"Your belief in this so-called 鈥榝reedom of expression鈥� for one disillusioned and misguided man is stronger than your belief in the value of good relations with 1听billion souls."

In that case, he reasoned, the West could hardly blame Muslims for defending their own principles.

鈥淧rime Minister,鈥� he concluded, 鈥淚 am much saddened.鈥�

A disconnect between two world views

In another archival letter, Thatcher鈥檚 private secretary noted that British officials were 鈥渞ather rocked by the severity鈥� of Mahathir鈥檚 letter.

Thatcher instructed FCO officers to draft a 鈥渞easoned response鈥� on her behalf.听, former high commissioner to Malaysia, warned they must try to address Mahathir鈥檚 points or the reply would sound 鈥渃ondescending and supercilious鈥�.

Written in Thatcher鈥檚 voice, the letter said she was 鈥渨ell aware of the distress鈥� the book had caused Mahathir and many in the Islamic world. The reply avoided creating a perception the government was responsible for it.

"I must emphasise that the British Government do not in any way condone or endorse Mr Rushdie or the content of this book."

Although freedom of speech was a principle of major importance, Thatcher insisted Britain was not seeking to impose its values on the Muslim world. The issue had 鈥渘othing to do with relations between Christians and Muslims鈥�. Rather, it was one of national sovereignty and international law.

When it came to the heart of Mahathir鈥檚 complaint, Thatcher鈥檚 response resorted to language that was polite, firm and vague:

"I was especially saddened to hear you suggest that the Western-controlled media made a particular target of the Muslim world. I cannot agree that this is the case. I believe that this century has seen a growing understanding between the nations, cultures and religions of the world. We must continue to work to improve that understanding."

The British government鈥檚 view was that states in the modern age could overcome differences once caused by religion. As such, Thatcher鈥檚 response would only represent Britain, not听, despite the many symbolic and even legal ways the British state was still tied to Christianity.

This was one of the reasons Thatcher and Mahathir were doomed to talk past each other. For Western leaders, political authority had superseded religious authority in the听. In diplomacy today, the things that mattered were sovereign states.

The leaders of Muslim countries also viewed sovereign states as important 鈥搕hey were the basis of their own legitimacy. And they had to defend the state against religious radicals who wanted to remake the world along听.

But for leaders like Mahathir, who grew up in a British colony, religion was still a vital force in diplomatic relations. He viewed the Western insistence on a secular world order as a continuation of colonial dominance over the Muslim world.

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The legacy of The Satanic Verses

We can see from this exchange how the British government wanted to distance itself from The Satanic Verses, even as it sought to protect Rushdie.

While many fellow writers,听, leapt to the defence of Rushdie and The Satanic Verses, the book had few defenders in the British government. (One exception was Rushdie鈥檚 local MP, the future Labour leader,听.)

In his recent memoir,听, Rushdie notes that he got a far more sympathetic response when he was听听than when the fatwa was issued in 1989.

Despite the British government鈥檚 notable lack of support for Rushdie鈥檚 book, Muslims听听and around the world felt the political and cultural power of the West was aligned against them.

This continues to be important for understanding听听around听听of the Prophet Muhammad in the West. They are never just about the images. They are also about a global imbalance of power that goes back to colonialism.

Mahathir and Thatcher were听听of each other 鈥� and both can claim to have been their countries鈥� most transformative leaders of the past 50 years. Mahathir, now 99, is听听in Malaysian politics despite recurring health issues.

Mahathir鈥檚 anger in this letter did not reflect personal animus against Thatcher. It foreshadowed his听听as a听听of听. His听听of Islamism may well outlast Khomeini鈥檚, despite the violent legacy of Khomeini鈥檚 fatwa against Rushdie.

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This article first appeared in .