Which 1988 novel by Salman Rushdie was banned in India and Iran for alleged blasphemy?

The 1988 novel by Salman Rushdie banned in India and Iran for alleged blasphemy was The Satanic Verses.

Published in September 1988, the novel is Rushdie’s fourth and uses magical realism to combine the experiences of immigrants in Britain with stories inspired by Islamic history. Its title refers to a disputed tradition about verses associated with three pre-Islamic Arabian goddesses.

India banned imports of the book in October 1988 after protests and political pressure. In February 1989, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death, making the controversy an international crisis involving demonstrations, book burnings, attacks, and threats against translators and publishers.

A common mix-up is treating the Indian and Iranian actions as identical: India imposed an import ban, while Iran’s response became especially associated with Khomeini’s fatwa. The novel was also banned in several other countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.