Author Salman Rushdie awarded German prize

BERLIN –

Writer Salman Rushdie has been awarded a prestigious German prize for his literary work and for his determination and positive attitude in the face of constant danger, the organizers of the prize said on Monday.

According to the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the British-American author will receive the prize on October 22 in Frankfurt.

Rushdie’s writing “combines a narrative vision with constant literary innovation, humor and wisdom”, according to the jury. “He describes the power with which violent regimes destroy entire societies, but also the indestructibility of the individual’s spirit of resistance.”

Last August, Rushdie was stabbed repeatedly while on stage at a New York state literary festival.

“Despite the enormous physical and psychological consequences that he still struggles with, he continues to write – in an imaginative and deeply human way,” the German jury wrote. “We honor Salman Rushdie for his determination, his positive attitude to life and for enriching the world with his joy of storytelling.”

Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had condemned passages referring to the prophet Muhammad in Rushdie’s 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” as blasphemous. Khomeini issued a decree the following year demanding Rushdie’s death, forcing the author to go into hiding, even though he had been traveling freely for years before last summer’s stabbing.

Awarded 25,000 euros (US$27,350), the German Prize has been awarded since 1950.