Computer game demonises Indian-British novelist Salman Rushdie, above. Photo: AFP
SALMAN RUSHDIE was the target of a notorious fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic of Iran, 23 years ago. Now, the author of The Satanic Verses is the subject of an Iranian computer game aimed at spreading to the next generation the message about his ''sin''.
The Stressful Life of Salman Rushdie and Implementation of his Verdict is the title of the game being developed by the Islamic Association of Students, a government-sponsored organisation which announced this week it had completed initial phases of production. The game was announced as Tehran hosted the International Computer Games Expo this week.
Three years ago, the student association and Iran's national foundation of computer games asked students to submit scripts for the game and the top three were handed over to video developers. But development of the game was delayed.
The director of the students association, Ahmad Khalili, told the news agency Fars that production of the game was under way despite some technical difficulties.
Little has been revealed about the game but its title suggests players will be asked to implement Khomeini's call for the killing of Rushdie.
Iranian authorities have complained in recent years that ''enemies'' have targeted their country in a ''soft and cultural war'' using illegal satellite channels, Hollywood films and computer games.
Iran has struggled to counter this with a presence in cyberspace. Mohammad-Taqi Fakhrian of the student association told the news agency Mehr: ''We felt we should find a way to introduce our third and fourth generation to the fatwa against Salman Rushdie and its importance.''
Guardian News & Media