Sign in
☰
People MPsHouse of LordsGovernmentOppositionPartiesCommittees Votes Commons votesLords votesVotes by issueTopicsStats & rankingsParliament in numbers Legislation BillsEarly day motionsPetitions Elections Election resultsConstituenciesWho is my MP? Scotland OverviewMSPsScottish GovernmentVotesBillsMotionsCommitteesConstituencies & regionsElections Search Sign in

Motion · S6M-05735 · 22 Aug 2022

Salman Rushdie

Lodged by John Mason Standard Motion 16 supporters

The motion

That the Parliament greatly regrets the stabbing of Salman Rushdie on 12 August 2022 in New York state and is delighted that he has survived and is recovering; remembers the fatwa issued against him in 1989 after the publication of his novel, The Satanic Verses; considers that a healthy liberal democracy must guarantee freedom of expression but must not guarantee freedom from offence; further considers that religious satire and publications criticising or ridiculing religious leaders, including Jesus Christ and Muhammad, should be allowed if people are truly to have freedom of religion or belief; believes that everyone has a duty to speak out against intolerance, which “must be fought and defeated before it stimulates and excites further intimidation and intolerance”, as the New Statesman stated in January 1989; wishes Salman Rushdie a full recovery, and agrees with his own words when he said, “a poet’s work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep”.

Supporters (16)

Source: the Scottish Parliament motions and amendments record.