Alleged Resemblance To Character in The Novel
While few have doubted Yusuf's piety or Sunni Islamic conservatism, some believe that the character "Bilal X" in Rushdie's book is a caricature of Yusuf Islam, and one observer has theorized that this may have been partially responsible for his reaction to The Satanic Verses. The fictional character Bilal X, a successful African-American former pop singer who has converted to Islam, is portrayed by Rushdie as the "favored lieutenant" of "the Imam", a character based on the Shia Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Bilal X's "well-nourished, highly trained" voice serves as "a weapon of the West turned against its makers."
Read more about this topic: Cat Stevens' Comments About Salman Rushdie
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