In a shocking incident on Friday evening, British author, Salman Rushdie was stabbed on stage in New York. Before the author could begin his speech in western New York, a guy stormed the stage and stabbed him in the neck and abdomen. Rushdie, 75, who was covered in blood, was rushed to a hospital and had to undergo surgery. The incident might be related to the death threats Rushdie received from the leader of Iran in the 1980s over his book “The Satanic Verses.”
Immediately after the surgery, he was put onto a ventilator, however, unfortunately, he was unable to speak. People rushed to the author’s aid after the incident amid chaos, and a doctor in the crowd immediately treated Rushdie while the paramedics arrived on the scene. The moderator at the event Henry Reese suffered a minor head injury. The police are yet to find a motive for the attack. The assailant has been identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar. Police said Matar acted alone, however, investigations are still underway.
French President talks about attack on Salman Rushdie
Rushdie’s book agent Andrew Wylie said, “The news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye. The nerves in his arm were severed, and his liver was stabbed and damaged.” An eyewitness said, “A man jumped up on the stage from I don’t know where and started what looked like beating him on the chest, repeated fist strokes into his chest and neck. People were screaming and crying out and gasping.”
Some Muslims claimed that “The Satanic Verses” contains blasphemous parts. When it was published in 1988, it was prohibited in many nations with sizable Muslim populations. A few months later, the supreme leader of Iran at the time, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious decree, ordering Muslims to execute the author and anybody involved in the book’s release for blasphemy.
Rushdie spent over ten years trying to hide and referred to his book as “pretty mild.” In 1991, Hitoshi Igarashi, the book’s Japanese translator, was assassinated.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was appalled that Rushdie was “stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend.” Meanwhile, the French President called it a violation of freedom of speech.
