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Srinagar, June 20: The official Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Maulana Mufti Mohammad Bashir-ud-din Ahmad, today condemned in strongest terms the award of a British knighthood to Indian-born author Salman Rushdie, whose 1988 novel 'The Satanic Verses' outraged many Muslims across the world.

In a release here, he resented the action of Queen Elizabeth and declared that Rushdie was ''liable to be killed'' for rendering ''gravest injury'' to the sentiments of Muslims across the world by writing against the Prophet Mohammad.

The Grand Mufti urged the Queen and her government to withdraw the award and also apologise to the Muslim world for conferring the knighthood title on Rushdie.

He further appealed to governments across the world to ban and burn all the publications of Rushdie. The Mufti also asked booksellers and publishers not to sell books authored by Rushdie.

Rushdie was awarded the knighthood for services to literature in Queen Elizabeth's birthday honours list published on Saturday.

''The Satanic Verses'' had evoked violent protests by Muslims around the world because they said the novel committed blasphemy against Islam.

Soon after, the late Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa death warrant against Rushdie in 1989, forcing him into hiding for nine years.

However, the Islamic Republic's government formally distanced itself from the fatwa in 1998. The death edict was disavowed under a deal with Britain.

Besides the Booker Prize for Midnight's Children in 1981, Rushdie has won the Booker of Booker, a special award honoring the best novel in the 25-year history of the prize in 1993.

Britain's twice-yearly honours ritual, designed to recognise outstanding achievement, is part of an ancient and complex honours system. A total of 946 honours were handed out in the birthday list, including 21 knighthoods.

UNI