JOIN USRushdie wrote on micro-blogging site 'Twitter' that Facebook deactivated his account, demanded proof of identity, and then turned him into Ahmed Rushdie, which is how he is identified on his passport.
He had never used his first name, Ahmed, he tweeted; and the world knows him as Salman, 'The New York Times' reported.
"Where are you hiding, Mark?" he demanded of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder, in one post. "Come out here and give me back my name!" the 64-year-old author tweeted.
The Twitterverse took up his cause. Within two hours, Rushdie gleefully declared victory: "Facebook has buckled! I'm Salman Rushdie again. I feel SO much better. An identity crisis at my age is no fun."
Though Facebook didn't explain how it happened but admitted it was a mistake. "We apologise for the inconvenience this caused him," the popular social networking site said in a statement.
An elated Rushdie tweeted: "Just received an apology from The #Facebook Team. All is sweetness and light."