Executives at the social networking giant insisted The Satanic Verses writer would have to use his first name Ahmed, rather than his middle name Salman, by which he is known around the world.
Website bosses deactivated his account over the dispute, insisting they didn’t believe him to be the real Salman Rushdie, forcing the revered author to use rival website Twitter.com to lambast Facebook bosses over their decision.
He wrote, “Dear Facebook, forcing me to change my FB name from Salman to Ahmed Rushdie is like forcing J. Edgar to become John Hoover. Or, if F. Scott Fitzgerald was on Facebook, would they force him to be Francis Fitzgerald? What about F. Murray Abraham?”
After his online outburst, Rushdie has been able to reactivate his Facebook account using his most recognisable title.
He added, “Victory! Facebook has buckled! I’m Salman Rushdie again. I feel so much better. An identity crisis at my age is no fun. Thank you Twitter! Just received an apology from The Facebook Team. All is sweetness and light.”
