The Satanic Verses

Ayesha leads the pilgrimage of the people of Titlipur. The "howling babies, shouting children, creaking oldsters" (284) and others walk to Mecca, enclosed in a cloud of Ayesha's butterflies. At the same time, Mirza Saeed Akhtar follows the pilgrimage in his car. He says that the pilgrimage is a "suicide mission" (285) and he begs the pilgrims to stop following Ayesha. The pilgrims walk through one village and then cross an area affected by a severe drought. After 18 days of marching, an elderly female pilgrim drops dead of exhaustion and dehydration. She had told her friends about a recent dream of the archangel Azraeel. Ayesha orders the pilgrims not to stop for the dead woman, who is "assured of a home in Paradise" (288). More people die and, each time, Ayesha orders the pilgrims to continue their march toward Mecca. Mirza Saeed continues to follow in his "station wagon of skepticism" (288). Gradually, people peel away from the pilgrimage and join him in his car. As they ride behind the pilgrims, he recounts myths and fairytales, sharing them in their original English language. Ayesha refers to his stories as "the Devil's verses" (290).

The pilgrimage becomes a political hot topic and people line up to protest the pilgrims.