Date:18/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/18/stories/2007061805260100.htm

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Tehran slams Britain

"The decision an evident fight with Islam by British officials"

TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday condemned Britain for granting knighthood to Salman Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses has caused widespread controversy in the Islamic world, local Fars news agency reported.

The decision "was an evident fight with Islam by high-ranking British officials," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini told the weekly press briefing here. "Honouring a hated apostate will definitely put British officials against the Islamic societies, because it has once again hurt their feelings," he said.— Xinhua