A fresh outbreak of violence by Moslems in India over "The Satanic Verses" left one person dead and 30 others injured Monday, while Soviet human rights activists in Moscow protested Iran's threats to kill the book's author, Salman Rushdie.
Authorities in Pakistan said a bomb that killed a guard at the British Consulate in Karachi Sunday was linked to unrest over the novel, which is considered blasphemous by Moslems and has sparked violence and demonstrations in several countries.Indonesia announced Sunday it was joining India, Jordan and several other nations with Moslem populations in banning "The Satanic Verses," and Iranian legislators said they will vote Tuesday on severing ties with Britain.
The Iranian move appeared to be a reaction to London's move to isolate Iran. Britain was instrumental in getting the 12-member European Community to pull diplomats out of Tehran following a death threat issued by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against the Indian-born British author.
The novel contains a dream sequence implying the Prophet Mohammed may have written the holy Moslem Koran himself, rather than as God dictated it to him.
One person died and at least 30 others were injured Monday in India when hundreds of Moslems turned violent while protesting the deaths of 13 people in rioting last week in Bombay over "The Satanic Verses." Since Feb. 7, at least 16 people have been killed and hundreds injured in India during protests against the book.
The bloodshed came as a newly formed group, the Islamic Unity Movement, announced that it would give $66,660 to anyone who carried out Khomeini's assassination order.
In Moscow, Soviet human rights activists hoisting signs reading "Khomeini murderers" protested in front of the Iranian Embassy Monday against Iran's threat to kill Rushdie.
The peaceful demonstration by about 30 activists came a day after Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze met with Khomeini in Tehran amid signs Iran was ready to improve ties with the Soviets.
Unlike most Western nations, the Soviet Union offically has held back from condemning Khomeini's call to assassinate Rushdie over his book.
In Karachi, Pakistani police said a high-intensity, 3-pound bomb exploded in the guardhouse at the British Consulate compound Sunday night, killing a security guard and damaging the building. Police said they suspect the explosion was connected to the unrest over Rushdie's book.
More than 5,000 supporters of the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah marched in the mainly Shiite Moslem southern suburbs of Beirut, chanting "Death to the apostate Rushdie," and burned an effigy of the writer.