Amis delivers fatwa warning to Obama

Martin Amis has issued an ominous warning to Barack Obama, saying that if he secures the Democratic nomination and goes on to become President of America he will, having been born a Muslim, "deserve" to have a fatwa pronounced upon him. Amis made his remarks at the Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival, where he had gone to plug his book The Second Plane. He said: "His father was a Muslim, that means he is a Muslim. It doesn't matter that his mother is a Christian. He was born a Muslim and has converted to Christianity so he is in the same position as Salman Rushdie and deserves the death penalty."

Amis, it should be pointed out, was not saying Obama should be assasinated, but citing a view expressed by the right-wing historian Edward Luttwak in a recent article in the New York Times that dealt with the Illinois senator's renunciation of his Muslim faith and its possible consequences. Amis, however, sees this apostasy as presenting difficulties when dealing in Middle Eastern politics. He added: "He will have problems when he goes to Saudi Arabia if he becomes president."

Although the airing of such views may cause delight in the Hillary Clinton camp, they are unlikely to go down well with moderate Muslims. Amis himself caused outrage among their number at last year's Cheltenham Literary Festival when he said Muslim states are less "civilised" than Western society.

He said: "Some societies are just more evolved than others. I am not saying these people are genetically incapable of not being terrorists. These societies are arming themselves with weapons like the AK47 and blowing people up on buses and Tubes."

When one member of his audience suggested not all Muslims were terrorists he retorted: "No one else is doing it."