Oberlin Prof Under Fire for Allegedly Supporting Fatwa Against Salman Rushdie Issues Denial [incl. Mohammad Jafar Mahallati]

In May of this year, the Jerusalem Post uncovered a 1989 Reuters report suggesting that Mohammad Jafar Mahallati supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa against author Salman Rushdie. Mahallati was then Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and is currently a Professor of Religion at Oberlin College.

According to the 2022 Jerusalem Post report, Mallahati was asked in 1989 about the fatwa and whether Khomeini had the right to put a bounty on someone’s head. As reported contemporaneously by Reuters, Mahallati responded:

I think all Islamic countries agree with Iran. All Islamic nations and countries agree with Iran that any blasphemous statement against sacred Islamic figures should be condemned.

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