Police are investigating a meeting of Moslems who allegedly voted for the execution of Salman Rushdie, author of a book that Islamic fundamentalists consider blasphemous, authorities said Wednesday.
Moslem leader Kalim Siddiqui called for 300 Moslems at a meeting Oct. 21 in Manchester Town Hall to raise their hands if they thought the Indian-born, British writer should be put to death, a Manchester police spokeswoman said.Most supported Rushdie's execution, she said.
Members of Britain's large Moslem community were outraged by the publication of "The Satanic Verses" last year, claiming it blasphemed the religion's founder, the prophet Mohammed.
Rushdie has been living in hiding under special police protection since Feb. 14, when Iran's spiritual leader, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, sentenced him to death for blaspheming Islam in his novel.
The police spokeswoman said one of the speeches delivered at the meeting in Manchester, 200 miles northeast of London, was "rather fiery" but declined further comment.