A prominent Iranian cleric has said the fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, issued by the late Iranian Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini in 1989, was ‘still alive’ in the Islamic Republic.
The comments by Ahmad Khatami at Friday prayers, broadcast on state radio, were the latest sign of the anger in Iran sparked by Britain's decision to award a knighthood to Mr Rushdie.
Muslims say his novel The Satanic Verses blasphemed the Prophet Mohammad and ridiculed the Koran.
In 1998, Iran's government formally distanced itself from the fatwa, but hardline groups in Iran regularly renew the call for his murder, saying Khomeini's fatwa is irrevocable.
Hundreds of Pakistanis protested today against the honour for the writer, and the parliament in Islamabad renewed a call for Britain to withdraw the title and apologise for hurting Muslim feelings.
Small protests were held in other Pakistani cities including Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Quetta, while shops and businesses closed in many parts of Indian Kashmir's main city in protest.
