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Salman Rushdie, the 75-year-old Indian-born novelist, was attacked on August 12 during the Chautauqua Summer Arts Festival in New York. He won the Booker Prize for his second novel, Midnight's Children, in 1981.
Rushdie's fourth novel, Satanic Verses, ran into controversy in 1989 as some Muslims considered it to be blasphemous. The book was banned in India, Pakistan, and several other countries.
The late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a religious edict known as a fatwa, calling for Rushdie's death and offering rewards for the killing of anyone involved in the publication of the book. The fatwa has not been formally rescinded and is still in place.
Following this, Rushdie was forced to spend a decade hiding within a fortified safe house under the protection of the British government. He moved to the US in 2000 and cautiously resumed more public appearances. His new novel, Victory City, is due to be published in February 2023.
We've curated a list of everything you need to know about the attack on Salman Rushdie.
Trigger warning: This article contains information about graphic violence.
5 facts about the attack on Salman Rushdie
1) The attack
Salman Rushdie was scheduled to deliver a talk at the Chautauqua Institution event in western New York on August 12. He had sat down onstage with the discussion's moderator, Henry Reese, to discuss the United States giving asylum to artists in exile, when the attacker rushed the stage and stabbed him several times in the neck and abdomen.
Henry Reese, the 73-year-old co-founder of City of Asylum, a Pittsburgh nonprofit residency program for exiled writers, also suffered a minor injury to his face during the attack. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.
2) Immediate events following the attack
The stunned attendees of the event struggled to wrest the attacker from Rushdie, who had fallen to the floor as the man was determined to continue the attack. Dr. Martin Haskell, a physician who was also attending the event, gave first aid to Rushdie.
Rushdie was airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he was taken in for surgery, which lasted several hours.
3) The attacker
A New York State Police trooper who was providing security at the event managed to detain the attacker. Major Eugene J. Staniszewski of the New York State Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, who had bought a pass to the event.
Several reports have stated that the attacker is of Lebanese descent and expressed views sympathetic to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on his social media accounts. The attacker had pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder and assault charges when he was produced in court on August 14, wearing a black and white jumpsuit and a white face mask.
4) Current condition of Rushdie
After several hours of surgery, Salman Rushdie was put on a ventilator. He had been fighting for his life and was unable to speak. His agent, Andrew Wylie, had reported:
“Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged.”
He is currently off the ventilator and can speak.
5) Iran's reaction to the attack
The conservative Iranian newspaper Kayhan, whose chief is appointed by the current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hailed the attacker:
“Bravo to this courageous and duty-conscious man who attacked the apostate and depraved Salman Rushdie in New York. Let us kiss the hands of the one who tore the neck of the enemy of God with a knife.”
Another state-owned paper reported that the “neck of the devil” had been “cut by a razor.” However, Iranian authorities are yet to make an official comment on the attack.
