'The Satanic Verses' was denied the ordinary life of a novel. It became something smaller and uglier: an insult.

The interesting thing about history sometimes. is that you know these people existed, and you knew what jobs they did, but you don't know much about them as people, so you actually have to make them up.

Many men start being friendly with women because they are trying to seduce them. I'm not trying to seduce them. I just like hanging out with them.

I've never yet managed to write a novel which didn't have an Indian central character.

Writers and politicians are natural rivals. Both groups try to make the world in their own images; they fight for the same territory.

But I - and I just think it's very - one of the problems of defending the extraordinary principle of freedom of speech is that you have to defend freedom of speech for people like that too.

The time-honored role of the artist [is] to speak truth to power.