Ayatollah labels Rushdie an apostate who can be killed

Yahoo News reports:

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has labelled author Salman Rushdie an apostate whose killing would be authorised by Islam, according to message carried by Iranian media.

Khamenei's reference to Rushdie was made in a message to Muslims making the annnual pilgrimage to Mecca, and was part of a lengthy tirade against "Western and Zionist capitalists" and the US-led "war on terror".

"They talk about respect towards all religions, but they support such a mahdour al-damm mortad as Salman Rushdie," Khamenei said.

In the Sharia, or Islamic law, "mortad" is a reference to someone who has committed apostacy by leaving Islam while "mahdour al-damm" is a term applying to someone whose blood may be shed with impunity. more

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