(1947– )
a British writer, born in India. His first successful novel was Midnight’s Children (1981), which won the Booker Prize . It was followed by Shame (1983). A later novel, The Satanic Verses (1988), was about the religion of Islam, and was thought by some Muslims to be very offensive. The Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran declared that Rushdie should be killed. As a result Rushdie lived under police protection at a secret address for many years. He continues to publish novels, among them The Moor’s Last Sigh (1995).