"The Satanic Verses" is a novel written by Salman Rushdie, published in 1988. The book is a postmodern, magical realist tale that blends historical fiction, mythology, and fantasy. The novel has been a subject of controversy and debate due to its perceived blasphemous content, which led to a fatwa (a call to kill) issued by Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time.