Big Al G’houl appears to be a Middle-Easterner obsessed with killing author Salman Rushdie (1947 – ). This is a reference to real-world event. Rushdie’s best seller “The Satanic Verses” (1988) contained rather irreverent depictions of Muhammad and the Qur’an. Sparking wide controversy in the Muslim world. Most countries simply banned the book. But Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie’s execution. Resulting in assassination attempts on the author. While Khomeini’s successors have not pursued this policy, the initial fatwa still has its supporters among hard-liners.Â
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Big Al G’houl wields a scimitar in combat. Since the residents of Dorkham Asylum are typically parodies of Batman’s foes, Big Al is presumably the parody of Ra’s al Ghul.
