| 19 Jun 1947 |
Salman Rushdie born, Bombay India. |
| 1976 |
Salman Rushdie marries Clarissa Luard. |
| 1988 |
Salman Rushdie marries Marianne Wiggins. |
| Feb 1989 |
The Satanic Verses published. |
| 12 Feb 1989 |
Six or more Pakistanis protesting the sale of The Satanic Verses in the United States are killed by police gunfire during in the ensuing riot. |
| 14 Feb 1989 |
Ayatollah Khomeini issues a Fatwa against Salman Rushdie over Satanic Verses. |
| 24 Feb 1989 |
12 are killed an 17 wounded in Bombay when police open fire on a crowd of 10,000 protesting outside the British Embassy. |
| 29 Mar 1989 |
Belgian Muslim leaders Abdullah Al Ahdal and Salim Bahri are shot and killed inside a Brussels mosque. |
| 27 May 1989 |
30,000 Moslems protest outside the British Parliament. |
| 14 Sep 1989 |
Person or persons unknown place four bombs outside British bookstores owned by Penguin, publisher of The Satanic Verses. |
| 3 Jul 1991 |
Italian translator Ettore Capriolo is beaten and stabbed in his Milan apartment. |
| 12 Jul 1991 |
Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi is stabbed to death in Tokyo. |
| 4 Jul 1993 |
37 people are killed in a riot in Sivas, Turkey. |
| 11 Oct 1993 |
Norwegian publisher William Nygaard is shot three times and left for dead outside his home in Oslo. |
| 11 Aug 1993 |
Salman Rushdie walks onstage during a U2 concert at Wembley Stadium. |
| 7 Sep 1995 |
In London, Salman Rushdie makes his first pre-announced public appearance since the inception of the fatwa. |
| 12 Feb 1997 |
The Khordad-15 foundation announces that the $2.0 million bounty on Salman Rushdie's head has been increased to $2.5 million. |
| 14 Feb 1998 |
Iran's chief prosecutor, Morteza Moqtadaie, declares: "The shedding of this man's blood is obligatory." |
| 22 Sep 1998 |
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami declares: "We should consider the Salman Rushdie issue as completely finished." |
| 24 Sep 1998 |
At the United Nations, Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi promises British foreign secretary Robin Cook that Iran will restrain itself from threatening Salman Rushdie's life. |
| 28 Sep 1998 |
Three Iranian clerics call on Moslems to kill Rushdie, despite recent statements by the government. |
| 4 Oct 1998 |
160 members of the Iranian parliament proclaim that the fatwa against Salman Rushdie still stands. |
| 7 Oct 1998 |
The Iranian government declares that the fatwa still stands. |
| 10 Oct 1998 |
The Association of Hezbollah University Students pledges an additional $333,000 for the bounty on Salman Rushdie's head. |
| 11 Oct 1998 |
The Khordad-15 foundation announces in a full-page newspaper ad that the $2.5 million bounty on Rushdie's head has been increased to $2.8 million. Foundation director Ayatollah Hassan Sanei declares: "To make the fatwa everlasting and encourage its execution, I have decided to raise the reward offered by the foundation. This reward for killing Salman Rushdie is a great honour for the foundation and we must preserve it." |
| 18 Oct 1998 |
International groups campaigning on behalf of Salman Rushdie announce that they plan to disband. |
| 4 Jan 1999 |
In Mexico, Salman Rushdie says he does not live a normal life. |
| 4 Feb 1999 |
BBC reports that Salman Rushdie is considering a visit to India. According to Muslim leader Syed Ahmad Bukhari, "Indian Moslems be prepared for any sacrifice... from the time he steps on Indian soil, we will follow him everywhere. If we have to give our lives, we are ready." |
| 6 Feb 1999 |
The Tehran Times declares that Salman Rushdie is like to be the target of assassination attempts during his upcoming visit to India: "If the visit of this most hated blasphemous and disgraceful person takes place, there is every possibility that it will be his last foreign visit." |
| 14 Feb 1999 |
Ayatollah Hassan Sanei, director of the Khordad-15 foundation, tells the newspaper Jomhuri Islami: "The idea of Rushdie's annihilation is still very much alive and seeks only the right moment." |
| 17 Jan 2000 |
In an essay, Salman Rushdie describes his impression of the recent Y2K celebrations: "Now we saw, as clearly as the fireworks in the sky, that the defining struggle of the new age would be between terrorism and security." |
| 2000 |
Leaves his wife for an actress and moves to New York. |
