Author Salman Rushdie attacked on stage in New York

[Sarzy]

Author Salman Rushdie, who suffered years of Islamist death threats after writing The Satanic Verses, has been attacked on stage in New York state.

The Booker Prize winner was speaking at an event at the Chautauqua Institution at the time.

New York State Police said a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Mr Rushdie and an interviewer.

"Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck," the police statement said.

The author was transported by helicopter to a local hospital. His condition is not currently known.

The suspect was immediately taken into custody, police said.

A video posted online shows attendees rushing onto the stage immediately following the incident.


The Indian-born novelist catapulted to fame with Midnight's Children in 1981, which went on to sell over one million copies in the UK alone.

But Mr Rushdie's fourth book, in 1988 - The Satanic Verses - forced him into hiding for nine years.

The surrealist, post-modern novel sparked outrage among some Muslims, who considered its content to be blasphemous, and was banned in some countries.

A year after the book's publication, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini called for Mr Rushdie's execution and offered a $3m (£2.5m) reward.

Dozens of people died in the violence that followed its publication, including murdered translators of the work.

The bounty over Mr Rushdie's head remains active, although Iran's government has distanced itself from Khomeini's decree.

The author, who has British and American citizenship, is a vocal advocate for freedom of expression and has defended his work on several occasions.

His appearance at the Chautauqua Institution event, in western New York, was the first in a summertime lecture series hosted by the non-profit.

A spokesman for the organisation's on-site police department declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

An artist at the venue said that rehearsals had been going as normal this morning until the attack inside its amphitheatre.

The venue has been on lockdown since, she said.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62524922

[waterslide]

Oops, I posted this in the books section. Like I said over there, I kept seeing the headline but thought it was like someone knocked him over or threw a plastic cup at his head. WTF is going on lately?

[kittylady]

It's sounding pretty bad. His publicist has released a statement that he has sustained damage to his liver, the nerves in one arm have been severed and it's likely he will lose an eye. Other reports are saying that he is currently on a ventilator.

[czb]

yeah, that's what i heard. appalling.

[waterslide]

That is horrific.

[trixie]

Holy crap. I thought the same, waterslide. Like someone came on stage and hit him or something. No mention of his attacker, whether he was apprehended and the motive. Was someone looking to collect from Iran?

[Sarzy]

Aug 13, 2022 5:15:37 GMT trixie said:

Holy crap. I thought the same, waterslide. Like someone came on stage and hit him or something. No mention of his attacker, whether he was apprehended and the motive. Was someone looking to collect from Iran?

This mentions his attacker: 

The suspect was identified as Hadi Matar, 24, from Fairview, New Jersey, State Police Troop Commander Major Eugene J. Staniszewski said in a Friday evening news conference. Police are working with the FBI and local authorities to determine the motive.

Authorities are also working to obtain search warrants for several items found at the scene, including a backpack and electronic devices, Staniszewski said. Authorities believe the suspect was alone but are investigating "to make sure that was the case," Staniszewski added.

The suspect jumped onto the stage and stabbed Rushdie at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen, state police said. Staff and audience members rushed the suspect and put him on the ground before a state trooper took the attacker into custody, police said.

edition.cnn.com/2022/08/12/us/salman-rushdie-attacked/index.html

His injuries sound awful. 

[no1novice]

Aug 12, 2022 20:35:14 GMT waterslide said:

Oops, I posted this in the books section. Like I said over there, I kept seeing the headline but thought it was like someone knocked him over or threw a plastic cup at his head. WTF is going on lately?

I posted in gossip too!

[kittylady]

Aug 13, 2022 11:19:04 GMT no1novice said:

Aug 12, 2022 20:35:14 GMT waterslide said:

Oops, I posted this in the books section. Like I said over there, I kept seeing the headline but thought it was like someone knocked him over or threw a plastic cup at his head. WTF is going on lately?

I posted in gossip too!

I'll lock off the gossip one and redirect here if that's ok with you.

[imnotbitter]

How pathetic, to try to kill someone because they don't believe the same thing as you. I hope he survives.

[sputnik]

This is so fucked up. I was so upset when I heard this.
Luckily they’ve updated his health condition, he’s off the ventilator and talking and even joking, in true salman Rushdie style.

[dilligaf]

I don't shed tears for a misogynist who calls his wife a "bad investment".

[sputnik]

That doesn’t change the fact that he’s brilliant and has written some of the best novels of the last century. People are more than one thing but regardless of how you feel about him, you should be appalled by this attack on freedom of expression and speech. This is motivated by the same hate and bullshit as the Charlie Hebdo attack, and by people who are even more misogynistic.

[no1novice]

For such a brilliant writer you would have thought that he would have come up with a better comment....

Salman Rushdie: Iran blames writer and supporters for stabbing

Published

31 minutes ago




RushdieImage source, Getty Images

Iran has "categorically" denied any link with Salman Rushdie's attacker - instead blaming the writer himself.

Mr Rushdie, 75, was left severely injured after being stabbed on stage at an event in New York state. He is now able to breathe unaided.

He has faced years of death threats for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused Iran's state media of gloating about the attack, calling its behaviour "despicable".

Iranian media have extensively commented on the attack, calling it "divine retribution".

Iran's state broadcaster daily Jaam-e Jam highlighted the news that Rushdie might lose an eye following the attack, saying "an eye of the Satan has been blinded".

Salman Rushdie: The writer who emerged from hiding
Horrifying, ghastly: Authors condemn Rushdie attack

As news emerged of Friday's attack, eyes turned to Tehran where the fatwa - religious edict - calling for the writer's assassination was first issued more than three decades ago.

But on Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani Tehran "categorically" denied any link, adding "no-one has the right to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran".

However, he said freedom of speech did not justify Mr Rushdie insulting religion in his writing.

"In this attack, we do not consider anyone other than Salman Rushdie and his supporters worthy of blame and even condemnation," the spokesman said during his weekly press conference in Tehran.

Iran had no other information about Rushdie's assailant except what has appeared in media, he added.
Media caption,

Watch: New York state governor's message of defiance after Rushdie attack

Mr Blinken had earlier denounced Iran's state institutions for inciting violence against the author.

He said in a statement that Mr Rushdie had "consistently stood up for the universal rights of freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of the press".

"While law enforcement officials continue to investigate the attack, I am reminded of the pernicious forces that seek to undermine these rights, including through hate speech and incitement to violence.

"Specifically, Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media recently gloated about the attempt on his life. This is despicable."

Mr Blinken added the US and its partners would use "every appropriate tool" at their disposal to stand up to what he called "these threats".

On Sunday, Mr Rushdie's son said the author was still in a critical condition: "Though his life-changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact," he said.

The family were "extremely relieved" when Mr Rushdie was taken off a ventilator on Saturday, he said, adding that his father was able to "say a few words".

The author's agent Andrew Wylie said the celebrated novelist suffered severed nerves in one arm, damage to his liver, and would likely lose an eye.

The man charged over Friday's attack - named as Hadi Matar, aged 24 - has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault. He is accused of running on to the stage and stabbing Mr Rushdie at least 10 times in the face, neck and abdomen.

The novelist was forced into hiding for nearly 10 years after The Satanic Verses was published in 1988. Many Muslims reacted with fury to it, arguing that the portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad was a grave insult to their faith.

Mr Rushdie faced death threats and the then-Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa - or decree - calling for Mr Rushdie's assassination, placing a $3m (£2.5m) bounty on the author's head.

The fatwa remains active, and although Iran's government has distanced itself from Mr Khomeini's decree, a quasi-official Iranian religious foundation added a further $500,000 to the reward in 2012.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62546469

[ravenna]

Aug 14, 2022 23:23:24 GMT dilligaf said:

I don't shed tears for a misogynist who calls his wife a "bad investment".

I mean, sure, I'm under the impression he can be a bit of a dick sometimes.  But I find it troubling that people will look at one aspect of a person (we're not talking about a serial rapist here) and use it to sum up his entire character and dehumanize him.  None of us is fucking perfect.  Rushdie absolutely does not deserve to be in a hospital now, at risk of losing an eye among other grim injuries.

I am a fan of his work; I think he is a brilliant writer and the chapter with the pilgrimage to Mecca in The Satanic Verses took my breath away.  But even if I despised him and thought his work was rubbish, I would still be appalled and sickened on principal alone by this attack.  As everyone should be.