That's mostly what he wanted to do as a child growing up in Mumbai. No doubt, if that was the path he had chosen, he probably would have still offended his Muslim brethren; for no matter what he does, Rushdie, the successful author of 13 novels, remains an intrinsically controversial figure.

Last week, it was announced that the 60-year-old writer was to be awarded a knighthood by the British queen for services to literature. The announcement, which Rushdie said he was humbled by, was greeted by ferocious protests across the Muslim world, a reminder that Rushdie, who lives in England, is still in danger from the fatwa placed on him after the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988.

Born to Anis Rushdie, a lawyer and business man, and teacher Negin Butt, Rushdie, whose grandfather was an Urdu poet, went to Cambridge after a secondary education at the posh Rugby School. After graduating from Cambridge where he read history, he worked as an actor at Oval House in Kennington and as a freelance advertising copywriter.

His first writings were unremarkable.

Grimus, published in 1975, was a poorly received science fiction novel. It would be six more years before Rushdie would come to the attention of the literary world. And how. Midnight's Childrenwas a rollicking, fantastical jaunt through Indian history narrated by Saleem Sinai and a thousand children born after the Declaration of Independence. The book brought Rushdie the fame and applause of book critics, netting him the Booker Prize in 1981 (in fact, in 1993, he won a further Booker Prize which named the book the best one to win the award in the previous 25 years. ) During this time, Rushdie was reaching the halfway point of his first marriage to Clarissa Luard, who bore him a son, Zafar. Two years after winning the Booker, his third novel was a runner up for the prestigious award.

Shame chronicled political unrest in Pakistan with thinly disguised characters. It indicated that Rushdie was never going to be an author who toed the line or shied away from controversy. If anything, he would go out of his way to stoke such flames.

In 1988, The Satanic Verses was published. The title refers to a controversial viewpoint in Islam regarding an entry in the Qur'an which many Muslims believe was fabricated.

Labelled as blasphemous, the book was banned in Singapore first, then in India, and then every Muslim nation. The untouchable Mohamed was interpreted by Rushdie and that would not do. Rapidly, the severity of the situation escalated. On Valentine's Day in 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran, issued a fatwa against Rushdie over radio in Tehran.

The call for his execution was encouraged by others, and eventually a $5,000,000 bounty was placed on his head. His wife at the time, the American writer Marianne Wiggins, moved between 56 different safe houses with her husband.

Eventually, diplomatic relations between the UK and Iran broke down, with both nations cutting ties in March 1989.

Officially in hiding, Rushdie chose a rather strange place to emerge . . . at a U2 concert in Wembley in front of 50,000 people. Bono was wearing a devil costume on stage, causing Rushdie to remark: "I am not afraid of men who wear horns: I know who the real devils are." His relationship with the band solidified following 1999's and Rushdie. Appropriately, The Ground Beneath Her Feetwas a reinterpretation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in the world of rock 'n roll. And Bono loved it.

By now, Rushdie was married to his third wife, Elizabeth West, who gave birth to his second son, Milan. But Rushdie's life was tumultuous after The Satanic Verses. The Japanese translator of the book was stabbed to death in the summer of 1991. The Italian translator was stabbed around the same time. The Norwegian publisher escaped death after an assassination attempt in Oslo in 1993.

There was a real and dangerously close threat to Rushdie's life, forcing him to remain underground while others discussed the severity of the actions spewing from the Muslim world. VS Naipaul described the fatwa as "an extreme form of literary criticism", which was putting it mildly. Copies of the book were still being burned and bookshops that sold it were bombed.

Meanwhile, Rushdie was trying to get on with his life. His trademark sleepyeyed look was corrected (he was actually struggling with a tendon condition that prevented him from opening his eyes fully, something that could have destroyed his eyesight if not treated) before he took up a rather unusual film role. If you ever wondered who Renee Zellweger asked for directions to the toilet in a scene in Bridget Jones' Diary, now you know.

Rushdie returned to writing two years ago with Shalimar the Clown, which was a finalist for the Whitbread Book Award and was shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He also married Indian actress and model Padma Lakshmi, who hosts a reality TV cookery programme in the US.

Last year, Iran reminded Rushdie that the fatwa still stands, and the danger to his life is becoming more acute.

On Friday, leading Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Ahmad Khatami said, "In Islamic Iran, the revolutionary fatwa issued by Imam Khomeini remains valid and cannot be modified." Iranian leaders have made it clear that his killing would be authorised by Islam. Effigies of Rushdie . . . himself a champion of free speech . . .

have been burning all week. Pro-Taliban clerics in Pakistan have called for the British government to hand over Rushdie for punishment. Protests against his knighthood have taken place in Islamabad, Lahore and Quetta as a Pakistani legislator told the government, "Whosoever kills him will be the hero of Muslims."

It does appear that the world is now an even more extreme place for Rushdie to live, nearly 20 years after The Satanic Verses was printed. Though his life and that of his family remain protected, he remains in grave danger.

CV

Occupation: Novelist
Born: 19 June, 1947 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India
In the news: He has been awarded a British knighthood, sparking protests in Muslim nations