March 30, 2008
Source: Deutsche Welle/DPA News
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3226860,00.html
Police kept guard on Sunday as the curtain went up in a German theater premiere of a play based on "The Satanic Verses," a controversial novel by Indian-born author Salman Rushdie.
The stage adaptation, the first of Rushdie's 1988 novel, was premiered at the Hans Otto Theatre, known by the acronym HOT, in the city of Potsdam, south-west of Berlin. The script is by Germans, Uwe Eric Laufenberg and Marcus Mislin.
Police in Potsdam described the watch at the theater as a precaution, saying there had been no threats to the event. Some Muslims have been upset by the production, suggesting that insulting Islam was a gimmick to attract audiences.