The Satanic Verses is the best example of how culture has been translated to create as big a controversy as THE RUSHDIE AFFAIR. Understanding the text with the discourse of religion was easier since the dream sequences of Gibreel (the protagonist) is filled with allegories on Islam and its history. Through this project we tried to understand how Salman Rushdie translated actual facts; took influences and inspiration from the questioned past of Islam; and had the courage to doubt his own faith and Islam’s authenticity. The concepts we chose were the discourse of religion and cultural translation. We divided the task into several sub-topics which were then taken by each individual depending upon their convenience and understanding. The project helped me immensely in understanding translation studies and various concepts and practicalities involved in the field of translation studies. During the research period, reading through dozens of articles of eminent scholars like homi bhaba etc, added a lot to the knowledge of our course.

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1. Abstract
The Satanic Verses is the best example of how culture has been translated to create as big a controversy
as THE RUSHDIE AFFAIR. Understanding the text with the discourse of religion was easier since the
dream sequences of Gibreel (the protagonist) is filled with allegories on Islam and its history. Through
this project we tried to understand how Salman Rushdie translated actual facts; took influences
and inspiration from the questioned past of Islam; and had the courage to doubt his own faith and
Islam’s authenticity
2. Introduction
Allotment of tasks
The concepts we chose were the discourse of religion and cultural translation. We divided the task into
several sub-topics which were then taken by each individual depending upon their convenience and
understanding.
The break-up of our project task allotment was-
 Shrishma- Discourse (understanding definition of discourse, meaning of the discourse
of religion, a few examples);
 Shreya- Cultural translation (definition, meanings, explanation, examples, problems of cultural
translation- all in the Indian context);
 The analysis of the novel was further divided into many parts:
i) Shrishma- Introduction
ii) Simran- Summary (includes summary of the parts relevant to our analysis of religious
discourse and cultural translation)
iii) Sub-headings of analysis-
Sugandha- Title, Ayesha, Conclusion
Shrishma- Mahound
Vandita- Submission, Salman
Shreya- Hijab, Conclusion
3. Project Introduction
Before deciding on our source text, we analysed and compared the various concepts to work on.
Hence we chose the discourse of religion out of other discourses like politics, gender,

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violence etc., as it was the most evidently found discourses in the indian context. Moreover the
translation form that we opted for was cultural translation out of other forms like
transcreation, communicative, literal, etc., since the role and implication of culture in translation
studies plays a pivotal role in the indian context. After deciding on the above two concepts we
searched for an example (a case) which could be a movie, novel, article etc., that displayed
significant characteristics of the applications of above two concepts. After researching on a
number of examples we decided to stick to The Satanic Verses as it served the best example to
explain cultural translation with religion as a discourse.
4. Learning Outcome/ Personal Experience
Shrishma Kudadah - This project gave me a chance to understand the terms of ALC(Applied Language
Course) better. It made me realize the essence of this subject and helped me to correlate it to
management studies. I learned that how culture and religion comes under an extra sensitive area! Our
case study of the novel ‘The Satanic Verses’ was quite challenging and complex but at the same time
interesting too. The various parts of the novel gave me a clarification of double meaning words and the
reasons behind the author using different words and phrases and his way of cultural translation. The
term discourse is now also better understood by me in the context of literature.
Simran Soni- The project helped me immensely in understanding translation studies and various
concepts and practicalities involved in the field of translation studies. During the research period,
reading through dozens of articles of eminent scholars like homi bhaba etc., added a lot to the
knowledge of our course.
Shreya Sood- One of the principal aims of doing this project on Cultural Translation while studying
religion as a discourse was to develop a better understanding of the various concepts related to it. Now
after successfully completing this project, I am much more aware of the various subject matters related
to translation.
Also, our case study on “The Satanic Verses”, a novel written by Salman Rushdie was initially a little
tough to comprehend but gradually we as a team were able to understand its essence and associate it
with religion as a discourse. We could conclude that what a complex task cultural translation was and
how people may have different versions of same words and phrases based on their experiences and
perception.

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Sugandha Priya- It was wholesome a very informative project for me as reading the novel and searching
for examples keeping our discourse and cultural translation took a lot of time and hard work from all of
us. Initially, I was apprehensive about studying this novel as it was too complicated with so many
different characters and plots but with the help of my team members I agreed to it and completed it
successfully.
I got to read many articles, newspaper clippings from various resources so now I feel more focused on
these types of topics. Even I did a lot of research, consulted many people to know how to search valid
information on internet, this has taught a lot to me.
Vandita Nim- When we see some controversial religious book, we tend to see it as others have
mentioned it to us by our ancestors, whether we agree or not, it is true. So, by doing this project, I got to
learn that it’s our wish how we want to see guiding principles, and make changes whenever they are
required in the changing world and do not remain orthodox. Working with different people of different
perceptions help you to have a look on the opposite side of coin too with peace and cooperative
behaviour.
5. Literary review (sources used: internet, newspaper)
We have mostly used the internet medium for our projects. Several newspaper articles have been
consulted with, but through the internet. These articles have basically shaped our opinion of how the
world(i.e., the readers) viewed and interpreted the novel. Articles of various historians and
philosophers have helped bring about facts on which the novel takes inspiration from. The historical
account of founding of Islam helped us a lot in matching the novel with the past. Other articles by
scholars have helped us find numerous implications behind incidents, characters and their names.
Every article has been provided for in the bibliography in the form of references.
6. Methodology
After deciding on the case study- The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, we read and tried to
understand the story, plot, and several themes attached to it. No doubt it was one of the most
complex stories one could come across, with several plots and sub plots running simultaneously. Yet
we did not give up. Thanks to the controversy surrounding this novel that we could find numerous
articles to solve our doubts and queries. Perhaps if this wouldn’t have been the ‘much- talked- about’
novel we might have faced difficulty understanding the various implications tightly knotted in the
story. After having a good hold on the novel, we focused ourself on the theme of religion- Islam, in
this case, and avoided talking about other themes as multiple personality characteristics

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(called cultural hybridity), immigration woes, post colonial indian scenario etc. thereafter we jotted
down points where both cultural translation and religion were evident. We also explained our points
with the help of facts, words of eminent scholars etc., but also in the meanwhile checking the
authenticity of our sources of information.
7. Discourse
Any pan human idea which decides your socio-cultural attitudes or implications or aspects.
7.1 Discourse As Religion
Religion is a discourse because while living in a society, following a specific culture; a person starts
accepting some stereotypes related to religion. Person to person the perception may vary. However,
religious discourse is unavoidable. It seems to affect our views on all things. An individual does give it
a thought irrespective to what extent he/she might be rational or practical or modern.
Religious discourse includes not only statements of personal experiences, but also ethical admonitions,
creeds, moral codes, ritual procedures, myths, parables, and so on. Religious discourse extends over an
almost indefinite range. It appears to arise out of collective experiences of particular peoples and, does
not so much determine what we think, feel, and do as to describe what is thinkable, feel able, and
doable. [2] Discourse establishes social stereotypes.
It includes stereotypes regarding:
 Clothing: We identify religion of different personalities by their outer appearance that is, their
dressing styles. For example: At the core of the Sikh dress code lie the five Ks. Men and women are
required to wear their hair long and never cut it (KESH) as well as have the other four Ks on their
person at all times – the steel bracelet (kara), the small sword( KIRPAN), the wooden comb
(KANGHA) and the long underpants (KACH). Men usually cover their hair with a TURBAN made
from a long thin strip of material wound around their head, and women cover their head and shoulders
with a long scarf called a CHUNI. At home, men replace their formal turban with a smaller one
called a KESKI. [3]
 Ornaments and Articles: Like in Christianity, a cross or a rosary is worn by the individuals.
Whereas, sometimes back wearing a cross was also a fashion statement. Like, in Hinduism, people

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wear moli (red thread) after Puja (praising their God).
 Signs and Symbols: For Hindus, the Om symbol is considered to be very auspicious. Swastika
is associated with ‘good fortune’. We have seen many people making this design outside their new
homes usually.
Whereas, Christians before initiating their prayers and after completion of their prayers make a cross
sign.
There are also different names in different religions with which one calls out to what is considered the
Ultimate Power (The God) wherein Muslims call it Allah or Khuda, Christians name it as Almighty or
Lord, Hindus call Ishwar, Prabhu, Bhagwan, etc. These names however, are sometimes used
interchangeably. With different forms of God, we derive different names.
Relation to terrorism: Mentioning the 26/11 incident, people have developed a perception that
Muslims are violent and aggressive. Relating this to “the first Indian movie which focused on this
theme” [4] (i.e., Terrorism) named as ‘NEW YORK’. It displayed that how even Muslims suspected
as terrorists were humiliated, tortured and detained which in turn provoked him to take the revenge.[3].
It showed that how an innocent suffered so much just because he was a Muslim.
Due to our surroundings we are living in and the culture we follow up. We might develop a perception
or in fact , maximum of us have a perception instilled in our minds since childhood. A person is
having a particular positive thought about a specific religion and a negative thought about some other
specific religion. India is a diverse country. And especially, in India each factor under religion has
its own importance and dignity and core beliefs associated with that religion.
8. Cultural Translation
Before understanding the concept of cultural translation the word culture needs to be clearly defined.
In a broad sense, culture refers to the total approach to life of particular groups of people and their
ways of behaviour[5]. Cultural translation represents the practice of translation, which involves
cultural differences. Cultural translation can be also defined as a practice whose aim is to present
another culture through translation i.e. to initiate the target-language reader into the sensibilities of the
source-language culture. [6]
In other words, cultural translation refers to the transformation of a culture in the interaction with
other cultures, distancing itself away from its origin and assimilating more and more values and

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practices of foreign cultures. It is a process which withdraws the separation between the source and the
target language and enables to negotiate cultural differences. [6]
8.1 Problems Faced During Cultural Translation
Cultural translation is a very complicated task because the main element i.e. culture is itself a
complex collection of experiences which condition daily life; and includes history, social structure,
religion, traditional customs etc. [7]
Therefore, a cultural translator must have a much more widespread knowledge than the source text can
actually provide, which is difficult to comprehend completely.
Another issue is that some societies and cultures are dominant compared to others. In the process of
cultural translation, it is especially true in the case of target language which may dominate the source
culture to make text comprehensible in a sense of readers’ culture.[6]
Also, there exists some words and phrases that are so heavily grounded in one culture that they are
almost impossible to translate into the term of another.[8]
Example: - kurta, dhoti, roti, karma or maya etc. are some terms so peculiar to Indian culture that
they cannot be appropriately translated to words like the Western shirt, trousers, bread, deeds both
past and present, or illusion. [9]
8.2 Examples
In Indian culture, people use plural words to address their elders in order to show their respect towards
them. Thus, a simple you or he/she cannot substitute it as the basic idea of respect behind it will be
lost.
Traditionally, most Indians used to live with their extended families. Therefore, a need to address
each relation arose. For this reason, in most of the Indian languages we have different words for
defining each relation. Like different words for father’s brother, mother’s brother etc. Since, this
concept of extended family living is unheard in western countries, languages like English lack the
corresponding terms.
Another implication of extended family lifestyle is that it, to a certain extent, has kept family values
alive. In awareness of some societies these values need to be stressed, but the underlying idea of these
values can’t be translated in a language where the readers are unaware of these values.

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Even beliefs and feelings change from culture to culture. The colour white may represent purity and
black evil in the India, but it may not be the same in another culture too.
Dress codes or ornaments used and the symbols behind them can also pose a problem while
cultural translation. Here in India some ornaments are meant only for a woman whose husband
is alive.
A widow has some restrictions. But since this idea of widowhood is nonexistent in western countries, it
cannot be conveyed to such people. [7]
8.3 Conclusion
Translating from one language to the other helps in knowing and understanding a language
better, or understanding another culture better.
Translators can help enlarge the vocabulary of the receptor language. If the source text has a word
that does not have an equivalent, s/he can “coin new expressions” as Cicero the famous Roman
translator advised. Many scholars have pointed out how countless translators have over the years
enlarged their vocabulary. [10]
9. The Satanic Verses
The novel is divided into nine chapters-
1. Angel Gibreel
2. Mahound
3. Ellowen Deeowen
4. Ayesha
5. A city visible but unseen
6. Return to Jahilia
7. The Angel Azraeel
8. The Parting of the Arabian Sea
9. A wonderful lamp

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9.1 Summary
Well, this is the most difficult part of the entire project- explain the story in the shortest way possible,
well that means shrinking 547 pages into one small summary.
Part 1
“The jumbo jet Boston 420 explodes over the English channel. Two passengers plummet down to the
water to survive: gibreel farishta, a famous Bollywood actor, and saladin chamcha, an obscure voice
actor who lives in London.” [11]
The novel is embedded with a series of half magic dream vision narratives ascribed to the mind
of Gibreel Farishta, a character which is later shown to be suffering from schizophrenia. It is in these
visions that we see thematic issues of divine revelation, religious faith, and fanaticism, and doubt.
Part 2
During the fall from the airplane, Gibreel has the first of several elaborate visions. This vision
introduces the Jahilia subplot, which is a revisionist retelling of the early history of islam.
It follows this way- Mahound (an analog for Mohammed ) a businessman who satarts a new
religion called Submission in the pagan city of Jahilia. (Submission is the literal translation of the
word ‘Islam’.)
The religion is unique for being monotheistic in an exclusively polytheistic culture.he faces
opposition from the authorities, especially Karin Abu Simbel, ther city’s Grandee. Abu Simbel hires
Baal, a poet to write verses attacking Mahound. Nevertheless Abu Simbel remains nervous about the
growing sect and allows Mahound and his followers to be persecuted. One day, Abu Simbel offers
protection for Mahounds sect if he acknowledges three of Jahilias most important goddesses
alongside Allah. Mahound climbs up a mountain to consult with the archangel Gibreel who reveals
to him the word of god. Gibreel seems to affirm Abu Simbel’s request, so Mahound publicly
acknowledges the existence of Allah’s daughters. However he soon recants declaring that the
revelation about the goddesses actually came from Satan, not god. He publicly repudiates
his earlier proclamation. Abu Simbel and his wife hind retaliate by murdering Mahound’s wife and
uncle, and confining followers to ghettoes. Eventually Mahound and the other adherents of
Submission flee to the more tolerant city of Yathrib. [11]

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Part 4
This Section Describes Two More Of Gibreel’s Dreams,. The Second Dream Takes place in the rural
village of Titlipur. a landowner, Mirza Saeed Akhtar tries and fails to conceive a child with his wife,
Mishal.
They adopt an itinerant toymaker, Ayesha after finding her in their courtyard eating butterflies. she
is beautiful but insane. Ayesha and Mishal become very close. one day Ayesha diagnoses Mishal
with terminal breast cancer, which a doctor confirms. She makes a prophecy that Mishal will be cured
if the entire village makes a pilgrimage to mecca on foot. This is impossible because the Arabian
Sea stands between Titlipur and Mecca, but Ayesha promises that the archangel will part the sea for
them when they arrive. She convinces the village to follow her. Mirza saeed is sceptical but
follows in his merceded to make sure that Mishal stays safe.[11]
Part 6
This section resumes the Jahilia plotline 25 years after the end of part 2. Submission has spread in
Yathrib ad Mahound has grown more powerful, so he decides to make a second attempt at
converting Jahilia. However his disciple Salman has lost faith, after noticing that Mahounds
proclamations always seem to benefit Mahound at the expense of others. Fearing he would be
punished Salman flees to Jahilia and confides his doubts in the poet Baal. Shortly after Salman arrives,
Mahound follows and converts most of Jahilia- including his old nemesis, Abu Simbel. He establishes
a theocracy that tightly controlled the lives of the people and persecutes dissenters like Salman. Baal
egoes into hiding, joining the male staff of a brothel called the curtain. Still itching to undermine
submission, Baal encourages the prostitutes to take the identities of Mahound’s twelve wives – a
conceit that titillates the brothel’s patrons. This goes on for years. One day Salman stops by to say
goodbye to Baal, complaing that life in Jahilia has become too miserable for him to stay. Shortly after
that, the brothel’s employees are arrested , tried, nand executed. Not much later Mahound dies, his
last vision is of the goddess al lat one of the deities he repudiated in part 2. [11]
Part 8.
It resumes the Ttlipur plot. Things soon begin to go wrong. Pilgrims die of thirst and exhaustion
and Ayesha develops an authoritarian streak, insisiting that the pilgrims leave the corpses by the side
of the road rather than buring them. Mirza saeed tries to convince the village to turn back, but most

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of them ignore him. Word begins to spread of the pilgrimage, and it becomes both a media sensation
and a point of sectarian tension. When the grouparrives at the seaside suburb of sarang, a violent
mob awaits them. However a torrential rain disperses the angry mob, keeping the pilgrims safe. That
Friday, they worship at a mosque. While there, Ayesha allows the imam to order an abandoned baby
stoned to death. This horrifies the pilgrims and many of them lose faith in Ayesha. They follow her to
the beach anyway, where the butterflies take the shape of the archangel Gibreel. This resotores
their faith and they walk into the water and begin to drown silently. Mirza saeed and the other
doubters dive in to rescue them but could not succeed. When the doubters awake in the hospital, all
except Mirza Saeed claim that they saw the sea part underwater for the pilgrims to walk through-
despite the fact that the pilgrims bodies have started to wash up on the shore. Mirza saeed returns
home alone and allows himself to starve. Just as he is dying, he has a vision of Ayesha, and finally
opens his heart to her. The sea parts and they walk to Mecca together.
9.2 Introduction
“Blasphemy is a transgressive act of cultural translation” [12] are the words of Homi Bhabha ,
Professor of English and American Literature and Language, and the Director of the Humanities
Center at Harvard University.[2]
Rushdie believes that culture belongs to everyone, and individuals are free to interpret it in their
own ways. We inherit our culture no matter how sceptical we might be about it. Salman
Rushdie’s characters and his narrations are textual examples of this philosophy. The narrative-
The Satanic Verses, can be well understood as a revisionist interpretation of Islamic history. The
Satanic Verses showcases late twentieth-century dominant discourses as racism, nationalism,
religious essentialism, and other totalizing ideologies.[13]
9.3 Title
Reactions across the world-
“The Satanic Qur’an” for the impossibility of finding equal terms (equivalence) in several Asiatic
languages, is very often misread, through the aggrandizement of the mass media, as a
sacrilegious insult by many pious Muslims who have no idea about the content of the
book. [13]
The offence lies in the implications resulting from translating it into the Arabic – Al-Ayat ash-
Shaytaniya, the Persian – Ayat-e Shetani, and the Turkish – Seytan Aytleri, which would lead

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to a broad retranslation as The Satanic Qur’an.
Rushdie’s Claim –
Although Rushdie claims that “the phrase comes from al-Tabari, one of the canonic Islamic
sources” (The Observer, January 22, 1989).
9.4 Mahound
Elaborating and contrasting of the actual meaning of the term ‘Muhammad’ and the term
‘MAHOUND’ that is used in Salman Rushdie’s novel instead of ‘Muhammad’. [14]
Muhammad
1. ‘Muhammad’ was the Arab prophet who, according to Islam was the last messenger of Allah.[15]
2. The ‘Quran’, which is the religious text of Islam, is believed by Muslims to have been revealed
to Muhammad by God.
3.The religious, social and political tenets that Muhammad established in the light of Quran
became the foundation and base of Islam and Islamic civilization.
4. Prophet Muhammad is considered to be the “greatest of all prophets”[16] as anything first and last
acquires an additional significance.
5. To a conservative Muslim, Islam is not just a religion in the sense that most westerners use the
term, a private faith which provides hope and consolation within a secular world. Islam is a way of
life, a body of law, an all-embracing cultural framework , within which novels are distinctly
unimportant and troublesome.
The thing which was most hurtful for the Muslims was that this novel not only criticized modern
religious figures such as the Ayatollah Khomeni, but dared to question the authority of the very root
of Islam: the inspired nature of the Qur’an and the authority of the Prophet Muhammad.
Mahound
1. Mahound was a derogatory slang local word used by the Christian crusaders. This word for them,
2. means false prophets, false priests, devil etc. (it was a negative word in
Middle Ages). [12] As Amir Taheri writes, “The very idea of using the prophet Muhammad as a character
in a novel is painful to many Muslim”, An Arab proverb says: “Kill me, but do not mock my faith.”
Basically, Salman Rushdie’s views was that like every coin has two different sides. Similarly, in

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context of religion, every term has two meanings. One is Angelic while the other is Demonic.
9.5 Submission (pg. 289)
Against the fatal certitudes of orthodox Islam, the theme of doubt, and loss of faith, is one of the
most persistent in Rushdie's book. [17]This was sufficient to bring the charge of apostasy, and the penalty
of death, upon him, particularly from Iran. ('The name of the new religion is Submission', p.125).
Islam is a religious tradition which in many influential quarters is self-consciously seeking to purify
itself from modernizing, liberal tendencies. [18]
9.6 Hijab
There was a sharp contrast in what Hijab actually meant and how it had been used in the novel.
Basically, Hijab refers to a veil that is worn to cover head and a part of chest, particularly used
by Muslim females after they attain the age of puberty, in the presence of males outside their
immediate family. However, it has a metaphysical dimension as well where it refers to “the veil
that separates man or the world from God”. [19]
While in the novel it is used to name the Jahilian brothel and it alludes to Muhammad’s divinely
inspired decree that requires the separation of his women from visitors by a curtain, a practice
extended to society at large.[12]
“Whores and writers, Mahound- We are the people you can’t forgive.” Said by Baal, Page 40, The
Satanic Verses.
It was a statement made by Baal, the poet during his linguistic battle with Mahound who stands
pposed to all poets and poetry. When Mahound finally has power over Baal, he orders him and
the twelve prostitutes he married to be executed. Baal’s comment to Mahound offers specific
insight into the Jahilia plotline, as well as into theocracies more generally. The theocratic Muslim
regimes that Rushdie criticize treat women and dissident writers especially harshly.
However, the comment also refers to Mahound’s biggest flaw – his pride. Mahound is able to
forgive Salman and Abu Simbel relatively easily when he comes to power in Jahilia. However, he
cannot forget the humiliating verses Baal wrote about him twenty-five years before. The whores
also hurt Mahound’s pride by adopting the personalities of Mahound’s wives to please their clients.
Because they are malleable, willing to take on different identities, they pose an implicit challenge to
the rigidity of Mahound's ideology. By pointing out these two vendettas, Baal reveals Mahound’s

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narcissism, and suggests the danger of fixed ideas.[20]
9.7 Ayesha
Fact 1:
Ayesha conducted the bloody and unsuccessful military campaign after Muhammad’s death by his
favorite wife, Ayesha, against the fourth Khalifa, the Prophet’s son- in-law, Ali, is a historical
reference often cited by fundamentalists (both Sunni and Shi’ite) as proof that women should not
enter public life (Aravamudan 13).[12]
Fact 2:
The story of Ayesha makes free use of a widely reported episode that happened in Karachi in 1983
when Naseem Fatima led thirty eight Shi’a followers into the sea which they expected to part
for them.
Rusdie’s translation- He takes from Islamic history Ayesha, the name of the Prophet’s favorite wife,
and uses the same name for the most popular of the prostitutes in the Jahilia brothel, for the Muslim
visionary who led her fellow villagers to drown in the sea, and for one of the girl prostitutes in
London. Sacred and profane versions of womanhood become fused and indistinguishable by this
linguistic sleight of hand.[21]
9.8 Salman
Mahound failed to detect the Persian scribe Salman’s deliberate alteration of God’s verses . Salman
the Persian, was an immigrant convert to Islam and the scribe of the dream prophet
Mahound.[12]
Salman shares a first name with Rushdie; in addition, his Persian ethnicity makes him an outsider
among the followers of Submission. Salman’s position as a scribe, and his invention of the spike
pit (in the novel) show that he is more intellectually inclined than his peers, and that he has a creative
personality – both qualities that Rushdie might well identify with.
Salman, when he starts deliberately mis-transcribing Mahound’s dictation, discovers that his “poor
words could not be distinguished from the Revelation by God’s own Messenger” (367).[21]
Salman also refers to “one of Muhammad’s closest companions a major figure in Islamic history,
Salman al-Farsi (‘Salman the Persian’)” “some fringe Islamic sects hold that he was actually the
angel Gabriel in disguise”
Joel Kuortti offers another annotation of the historical fact which Rushdie’s fictional episode is based
upon: A similar tradition is recorded, where the Muhammad employed ‘Abd-Allah Ibn Abi Sarh as
his scribe. But the latter began to make changes in the recitation and finally lost his faith as these

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verses were accepted by Muhammad .Later ‘Abd-Allah was sentenced to death and pardoned in the
same way as Salman Farsi.[12]
10. Conclusion
Clearly, what has most offended Muslims in Rushdie's novel is his use of indecent language in
association with sacred characters in Islam, through sequences involving dream, fantasy or madness.
In several passages the sacred is even discussed through everyday language of the streets. Rushdie's
book has a place in the history of thought, because he has dared to challenge and explore the
supremacy of faith in the minds of millions.[17]However, through this novel Rushdie intended to
make a more universal statement about the way power corrupts ideals, and no revolution can
remain pure, precisely because every person has both angelic and satanic potential. What begins
as a pure intention is easily corrupted by our less noble qualities. Also it represents a conflict
between fact and fantasy, between "truth" and "falsehood".