This book examines the novel's main inflammatory episodes, pinpoints the "weaknesses" in Islamic tradition the novel shakes, and tries to determine the extent to which Rushdie can be held accountable for the deep rymblings caused by the content of his book. And as Rushdie was accused of heresy, the work weighs the pros and cons of previous heresy cases in Islamic history to demonstrate that very often religious dissent was confounded with political dissent and even treason.