The Four Color Media Monitor

As many surely know these days, comics writer Busiek's a very far-left ideologue who's upheld accepting views of Islam, the "Religion of Peace", which tragically resulted in a violent assault on Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie in New York, who's had an Islamic fatwa (judgement) on his head in the nearly 35 years since he wrote the book. So it's a surprise to discover Busiek's offered a supportive stance for Rushdie's sake after this horror occurred, which Rushdie so far was fortunate to survive:

Just bought some Salman Rushdie books.

I've never read his work, though I kept circling MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN and meaning to get to it. But I'd like to be supportive today, and this seems like the most direct way to do it.

— Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) August 13, 2022

I got MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN, THE SATANIC VERSES and JOSEPH ANTON. I'll look forward to reading them, and I hope he'll be with us and writing for a good long time to come.

— Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) August 13, 2022

Okay, that's recommendation enough for me -- I just bought THE MOOR'S LAST SIGH too.

— Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) August 13, 2022

Well I gotta admit, this is certainly amazing, considering how far to the left Busiek usually leans. But does this mean he's going to reevaluate any accepting views he may have of Islam? Alas, there's no telling what a left-wing ideologue will think, no matter what information he reads from the Satanic Verses itself. Certainly Busiek's backing for Rushdie is the right thing to do after the horror the poor man suffered along with one of his colleagues. But if Busiek refuses to acknowledge what Bill Maher's willing to (and won't even write any comics stories dedicated to Rushdie's causes), then we get nowhere in confronting a serious issue that's still endangering much of the world. Problems aren't solved if we don't condemn the sources.

Labels: Europe and Asia, history, islam and jihad, terrorism, violence