The Satanic Verses

by

Salman Rushdie

The Satanic Verses: Part 7, Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Dr. Uhuru Simba dies under suspicious circumstances while in police custody awaiting trial. The official account claims that Simba died due to a freak accident during a nightmare. The massive man reportedly screamed in his sleep, causing him to lift off his bunk and fall to the ground, breaking his neck instantly. The explanation is met with skepticism, especially from Simba’s mother, Antoinette Roberts, who speaks out vehemently against the police. Addressing an angry crowd outside the Brickhall police station, Antoinette accuses the authorities of playing with the lives of Black people. Hanif, Simba’s solicitor, adds fuel to the fire by highlighting the improbabilities in the police’s account. Both he and Antoinette suspect that racism played a significant role in Simba’s death.
Simba’s suspicious death and the implausible official explanation ignite outrage, revealing deep-seated issues of systemic racism and police brutality. Antoinette Roberts’ vocal criticism reflects the anger and distrust brewing within the Black community, who see Simba not just as a victim, but as another casualty in a long history of racially motivated violence. Hanif’s skepticism adds legitimacy to the community’s claims, pushing the narrative beyond just a grieving mother’s anger to a broader social indictment.
Themes
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
Simba’s death ignites a deep-seated anger in the black community of London. The media portrays Simba as a dangerous radical with ties to controversial figures like Qaddafi, Khomeini, and Louis Farrakhan, reinforcing the perception of him as a monster who deserved his fate. However, within the black community, Simba is seen as a martyr, and his death only intensifies the simmering anger that has been building over time. The streets of Brickhall become a battleground, with the police increasing their presence in response to the rising tensions.
The polarized portrayals of Simba—either as a dangerous radical or a martyr—demonstrate how media narratives can manipulate public perception. This dual narrative exacerbates the divide between the Black community and the authorities, with Simba’s death acting as a catalyst for the existing tensions. The battleground of Brickhall becomes a microcosm for larger societal conflicts, where police overreach and racial profiling collide with demands for justice.
Themes
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
The already volatile situation is further inflamed when the “Granny Ripper” strikes again, twice within two nights. The police push the theory of a copycat killer, but the community remains unconvinced. The police presence in the area quadruples, leading to more clashes between the authorities and the residents, particularly young black and Asian men who are determined to resist what they see as oppressive policing.
The police’s attempts to explain the situation away as a copycat crime only deepen the mistrust. The heightened police presence and aggressive tactics provoke more resistance from the community, creating a cycle of escalating tensions and violence. This dynamic highlights the breakdown of trust in a system that is supposed to represent justice and safety.
Themes
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
As tensions continue to rise, violent incidents become more frequent. Black families on council estates are targeted, schoolchildren are harassed, and fights break out in pubs. Stories of police brutality circulate, fueling the anger and leading to the formation of self-defense patrols by young Sikh, Bengali, and Afro-Caribbean men. Hanif predicts that another Ripper killing could be the final straw that leads to an explosion of violence. He suggests that the killer is not only flaunting his freedom but also mocking Simba’s death, which is something the community cannot tolerate.
The escalation of violence and the targeting of Black families and schoolchildren underscore the pervasive racism in the community. The formation of self-defense patrols is a direct response to the perceived failure of the police to protect minority communities. Hanif’s prediction of an imminent explosion of violence suggests that the community has reached its breaking point.
Themes
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
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Into this tense atmosphere steps Gibreel. He wanders the city, which now seems alien to him, in a state of delirium. Gibreel has been roaming without food or sleep for days and is increasingly unable to distinguish between waking life and dreaming. He carries the trumpet Azraeel and contemplates whether is he an angel of life or an angel of death. The city sends him conflicting messages, as everywhere there are images of oppression and triumph.
Gibreel’s delirious wandering through a city on the brink mirrors his own internal chaos. The trumpet Azraeel, symbolizing both life and death, reinforces Gibreel’s confusion about his role, as he does not know if he is supposed to be a creator or a destroyer. Furthermore, he does not know if the city itself is in an elevated or a fallen state.
Themes
The Fallibility of Prophets Theme Icon
Immigration and Identity Theme Icon
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
As he wanders through the streets, Gibreel’s perception becomes increasingly fragmented. He encounters memories of Allie, which are bittersweet as he now feels as though she has betrayed him. His mind, fractured by his experiences, merges different realities and narratives, making it difficult for him to grasp the truth of his situation. He hears the trumpet calling to him, urging him to unleash its power, but he resists, unsure of what path to take.
The trumpet’s call represents the allure of destruction, but Gibreel’s hesitation indicates his struggle between acting on his destructive impulses and seeking a more redemptive path. Again, this tension within Gibreel mirrors the chaotic and morally ambiguous environment of the city around him.
Themes
The Fallibility of Prophets Theme Icon
Immigration and Identity Theme Icon
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
One night, Gibreel finds himself in the red-light district, surrounded by young, underage sex workers, most of whom are not white and are being exploited. He feels a deep, inexplicable connection to them, sensing their pain and desperation. As they approach him, their bravado fades, and they kneel before him, recognizing in him a power they do not fully understand. Gibreel takes out the trumpet and blows, releasing a stream of fire that consumes the sex workers’ pimps, leaving nothing behind but ashes. This act of destruction brings Gibreel a moment of clarity; he understands that he is both a destroyer and a fulfiller of desires—a being capable of granting wishes but also an agent of destruction.
Gibreel’s decision to "cleanse" the city through fire evokes apocalyptic imagery, suggesting a purging of both sin and suffering. The references to housing estates named after battles and freedom fighters highlight a historical irony: places named for liberation are now sites of destruction. The flames serve as a symbol for both societal anger and the uncontrollable nature of revolutionary fervor. Although one might argue that the flames have a cleansing power, they are ultimately a destructive force that must burn the city down before it can rise from the ashes.
Themes
The Fallibility of Prophets Theme Icon
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
With this realization, Gibreel heads toward Brickhall, where the tension is at its peak. As he walks, he breathes in the desires of the city’s inhabitants. He decides that the city must be cleansed by fire, a purging that will fulfill the deepest desires of its residents while also destroying them. He walks through the low-cost housing estates. Some of the buildings are named after battles, while others have been renamed after freedom fighters like Mandela. As he walks, Gibreel blows his trumpet again, and flames sprout from the ground, forming a multicolored inferno that engulfs the buildings and the people within them. The flames create a nightmarish landscape of fire, which consumes everything in its path.
Gibreel’s decision to "cleanse" the city by fire is the culmination of his descent into a messianic madness. The symbolism of breathing in the city’s desires before destroying it suggests a twisted form of justice—granting what people want, but at a catastrophic cost. The flames that erupt from the ground represent Gibreel’s complete embrace of his role as both destroyer and purifier, turning the city into a hellish landscape. Notably, it remains unclear how much of this is actually happening versus what is occurring in Gibreel’s mind.
Themes
The Fallibility of Prophets Theme Icon
Meanwhile, Saladin, who has been trying to reestablish some semblance of normalcy in his life, finds himself drawn back into the chaos. After dining with Allie, he steps out into the night and witnesses the advance of the police and the eruption of violence in the streets. Instinctively, he runs, not realizing he is heading toward the Shaandaar Café, the epicenter of the firestorm that Gibreel has unleashed.
Saladin’s unintentional journey toward the heart of the firestorm reflects his inevitable confrontation with the destructive forces that Gibreel has set in motion. Previously, Saladin managed to get revenge on Gibreel and now, it seems, that Gibreel might be coming for some revenge of his own.
Themes
The Fallibility of Prophets Theme Icon
Television cameras capture the chaos as the police raid Club Hot Wax. The cameras, with their limited night vision, show the scene in stark, dispassionate terms: the police advancing, helicopters hovering overhead, the destruction of the club, and the arrest of several people, including Pinkwalla. The news reports focus on the supposed criminal activities linked to the club, including drug dealing and other illegal operations, while ignoring the broader social and political context of the unrest. The media portrays the rioters as mindless thugs destroying their own neighborhoods, reinforcing the narrative that the violence is senseless and self-destructive.
The media’s portrayal of the raid on Club Hot Wax exemplifies how narratives can be manipulated to dehumanize communities and downplay legitimate grievances. By focusing on criminal activities and ignoring the larger socio-political issues, the media reinforces stereotypes about the rioters and justifies harsh police actions. This approach frames the unrest as irrational and self-destructive, which dismisses the deeper causes of the conflict and reflects the systemic biases in public discourse.
Themes
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon
Amid the chaos, Gibreel carries Saladin to safety. As Gibreel walks with Saladin in his arms, the fire seems to part before them, creating a path through the flames. Outside, Mishal, who has been weeping for her parents, witnesses Gibreel’s selfless act. She and Hanif help the two men into an ambulance, where Gibreel, still exhausted and delirious, babbles about the trumpet and the fire. Hanif dismisses it as the ravings of a disturbed mind, insisting to Mishal that the events of the night are part of a larger socio-political struggle: they are a process of change in British society, not the result of any mystical forces.
Gibreel’s act of saving Saladin is a moment of redemption in his otherwise destructive journey. The parting of the flames symbolizes a rare moment of clarity and purpose, contrasting sharply with his previous chaos. Hanif’s interpretation, rejecting mystical explanations and focusing on the socio-political reality, represents a more grounded perspective on the upheaval.
Themes
The Fallibility of Prophets Theme Icon
Racial Prejudice and Xenophobia Theme Icon