Tehran, October 13, The Iran Project -�Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance�wrote letters to the culture ministers of 50 Islamic countries, urging them to take a position on the apostate writer Salman Rushdie�s invitation as a guest speaker to�this year�s Frankfurt Book Fair.

In a letter to culture ministers of 50 Islamic countries and the�Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah, Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ali Jannati, asked them to object to Salman Rushdie�s presence at Frankfurt Book Fair.

Saying that Salman Rushdie�s invitation to Frankfurt Book Fair is an anti-Islamic and inflammatory move, Jannati stated that Islamic countries must respond to this action so the fair�s organizing officials know that the Muslim world is against the apostate writer�s presence at this event.

In response to the question on what was the reaction of the fair�s officials to Iran�s protest, he pointed out that they did not show any serious reaction so we boycotted the event�and officially announced our pull-out.

Iran�s Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance for Cultural Affairs, Seyed Abbas Salehi, announced on Saturday (Oct. 10) that following Iran�s strong protest over Rushdie�s invitation to this year's�Frankfurt Book Fair, the country�s stand will not be opened in the fair.

The Frankfurt Book Fair is the biggest book and media trade fair in the world, with around 7,500 exhibitors from over 110 countries and about 300,000 visitors each year.