Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has conferred a knighthood to Salman Rushdie -- the author of the blasphemous book Satanic Verses.

The ceremony to confer the knighthood was held in London's Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, with many believing the move would trigger a wave of protest by Muslim nations.

A spokeswoman for the queen, who asked not to be identified because of the monarch's policy, was quoted by AP as saying that Rushdie was not listed among those to be honored because he was a late addition to the investiture.

The founder of the Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini pronounced a death sentence on Rushdie because of blasphemy against Islam in his novel The Satanic Verses.

The book created a firestorm of anger in the Muslim world when it was published in 1988.

The Indian-British writer is under round-the-clock protection from British special agents and lives completely out of the public eye.

The conferment of knighthood to the author of a blasphemous book which has insulted the Muslim world is widely considered as demonstration of Britain's flagrant hostility toward Islam.

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