Knighthood of Salman Rushdie All other aspects were for the main committee to examine. The British Foreign Office, which has a permanent secretary on the main committee, announced that there had been no requests to gauge possible Muslim reaction to the knighthood. It was noted that Rushdie's 13 books have won numerous awards, including the Booker Prize for "Midnight's Children" in 1981, the Booker of Bookers prize, the Whitbread novel award (twice), and the James Tait Black memorial prize. PEN International had been a constant supporter of Rushdie being honoured, believing that awarding the author (born in India) would be "seen as a positive
Knighthood of Salman Rushdie led a march of around 300 activists outside the British High Commission and the United States embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They denounced both the knighthood and US policy in the Middle East. They were monitored by riot police equipped with trucks carrying water cannons but the event did not descend into violence. The "Protesters spent 15 minutes outside the building, chanting slogans and waving posters that read 'Unite for Islam', 'Death penalty for Salman' and 'Salman Rushdie Get Lost From This World.'" One placard had a caricature of Rushdie with horns growing out of his head. At the 20 minute