This is a recap, from the article: The Satanic Verses is therefore not only a work of astonishing beauty but also a foundational document in the fight for culture, openness, civilization, and civility against those who wish to see those things stifled by narrow-minded faith-based puritanism. Salman Rushdie’s life and work remind us of the importance of this battle and the necessity of remaining staunch and unyielding in the task of defending civilization against its enemies in whatever grotesque permutations they appear.