It had been thirty-three and a half years since the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s notorious death order… — Salman Rushdie

Art is not a luxury. It stands at the essence of our humanity, and it asks for no special protection except the right to exist.

It accepts argument, criticism, even rejection. It does not accept violence.

And in the end, it outlasts those who oppress it. The poet Ovid was exiled by Augustus Caesar, but the poetry of Ovid has outlasted the Roman Empire. The poet Mandelstam's life was ruined by Joseph Stalin, but his poetry has outlasted the Soviet Union. The poet Lorca was murdered by the thugs of General Franco, but his art has outlasted the fascism of the Falange.