This passage was adapted from Politics in Music <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_in_music>
Retrieved November 3, 2004.
Governments have often tried to restrict the performance or dissemination of certain works
of art for political reasons. In particular, totalitarian regimes have tried to censor literature,
theatre, painting and other art forms. In western democracies, songs have been rejected by
radio stations owing to their lyrical content, a decision often taken by radio stations rather
than the governments themselves. However, this action often had the opposite
effect in that the records concerned had enjoyed increased sale due to the curiosity
generated by the ban. In 1977, the year of Queen Elizabeth's silver jubilee, the Sex Pistols'
single God Save the Queen reached number two in the U.K. Top 40 after being banned
for political reasons. In 1989, the famous Indian writer, Salman Rushdie, published his book
entitled Satanic Verses, and the content of his book generated anger among Islamic
fundamentalists. As a result, the spiritual leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa,
accusing Rushdie of apostasy and promising his execution. The condemnation put the author's
life in grave danger, but it also greatly boosted the sale of his book, Satanic Verses,
which was not even considered to be Rushdie's best work.
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