Nov 12, 2004 -- His reputation precedes him and controversy often overshadows his stature as a fiction writer. However, during his visit to the Wilf Campus, acclaimed author Salman Rushdie was engaging, disarming, and surprisingly nonchalant about his public image. Speaking to a full house in Lamport Auditorium that attracted many interested visitors to campus, Mr. Rushdie spoke of the importance of “freedom of the imagination.” “The important battle to win in this world is against placing limitations on thoughts and ideas. This is an ongoing battle,” he said. One of the conflicts we face in a free society, he continued, is that we have the option of shaping these stories. “It’s important not to have situations in which these stories are dictated.” Mr. Rushdie posited that the infamous fatwa imposed on him by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 was a desire to control the story—or free expression—in an Islamic state. Mr. Rushdie plumbed the essence of fiction. “The telling of a story is at the bottom of who we are as human beings. We tell stories as a way of inquiring into ourselves. All families have stories and it’s a way to tell that we are members of a family. We live inside these stories.” In the afternoon, 15 students participated in a class conducted by Mr. Rushdie and YU professors Elizabeth Stewart, PhD, assistant professor of English and director of the Yeshiva College Book Project, and Ruth Bevan, PhD, the David W. Petegorsky Professor of Political Science. Mr. Rushdie discussed his writing process, literary influences, and insights into Islamic fundamentalism. Justin Daniel ’05Y, an English major who attended the class, said the small size of YU was a strong advantage for him. “I have friends at Ivy League colleges who don’t get an opportunity like this,” he said. Mr. Rushdie said he started out as a novelist wanting to write about urban India, as he believed no other writers had portrayed the sensual, crowded reality of his native country. When he moved to the UK and later the US, the subject of migration became important. “Now I’m interested in the shrinking planet—the idea that everywhere is a part of everywhere else,” he said. “The story of the Middle East is the story of the US; the story of Al Qaeda is the story of New York City.” Mr. Rushdie’s visit was sponsored by the Yeshiva College Book Project and the Rabbi Arthur Schneier Center for International Affairs, which, inaugurated in March 2004, seeks to promote international understanding and cooperation by providing an educational forum for the exchange of ideas related to diverse critical issues in our increasingly interdependent world. The annual Book Project is aimed at fostering a spirit of tolerance as well as providing an opportunity for dialogue between students and faculty, and for developing a broader sense of intellectual community.