Salman Rushdie receives knighthood in British queen's birthday honors

LONDON (AP) From the target of a religious hit ordered by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini (hoh-MAY'-nee) to a British knight: Buckingham Palace today is honoring iconic author Salman Rushdie.

The author of "The Satanic Verses" went into hiding after a 1989 Fatwa (FAHT'-wah) called on Muslims to kill him because the ayatollah believed the book insulted Islam.

He re-emerged after the Iranian government said it would no longer support the edict in 1998 nor could it rescind it.

Rushdie says he still gets a "Valentine's Day card" every February 14th from Iran, reminding him he is a marked man.

Today, he was knighted.

C-N-N's Christiane Amanpour was also on the honors list marking Queen Elizabeth's official birthday.

The queen turned 81 on April 21st, but her official birthday falls on the first, second, or third Saturday in June.

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