He defended Salman Rushdie after the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned him to death , but later he criticized Rushdie 's Satanic Verses as `` insulting '' to Islam . He defended Salman Rushdie after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned Rushdie to death in 1989 , but also criticized his Satanic Verses as `` insulting '' to Islam .