The Satanic Verses Lesson Plan

Discuss the relationship between Islam and secularism that Rushdie establishes in the novel's opening section through the two main characters.

The opening section, which details the back story of the two main characters, illustrates the uneasy interplay between Islam and secularism in their lives. Gibreel and Saladin grew up Muslim—albeit not particularly observant—and each abandoned his faith at some point before the hijacking. Their moral convictions are full of inconsistencies: before his religious crisis, Gibreel was extremely promiscuous; even after becoming secular, Saladin refused to date a Jewish woman.

Further, they both have relationships with religion...