British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie was stabbed Friday on a stage during an event in Chautauqua, New York. The suspect in the attack is a 24-year-old man from New Jersey. The police announced this at a press conference on Friday evening. The author is in serious condition, his representative reported Friday evening.
The 24-year-old suspect was arrested immediately after the stabbing. He probably acted alone. His motive is not yet known. According to the police, he had bought a ticket to attend Rushdie’s lecture. There would have been no indication of a threat beforehand.
The 75-year-old Rushdie is best known for his controversial novel The Satanic Verses. The book led to numerous death threats and several assassination attempts on the writer.
‘The news is not good’
Rushdie was in Chautauqua to lecture on the importance of the United States providing asylum to writers and other artists in exile. He was attacked onstage and stabbed in the neck and abdomen. That is what the authorities have said.
Rushdie was treated onstage first. He was then transported by air ambulance to a hospital. The person who interviewed him on stage suffered a minor head injury.
“The news is not good,” Andrew Wylie, Rushdie’s representative, said Friday evening. The writer will probably lose one of his eyes. He also suffered nerve damage in one of his arms and damage to his liver. Rushdie is currently on a ventilator and unable to speak, Wylie said.
Salman Rushdie is treated on stage shortly after the attack
Salman Rushdie is treated on stage shortly after the attack Photo: AP
Rushdie has been under threat since 1988
The Devil’s Verses came out in 1988. The work sparked huge anger among Muslims. They felt that Rushdie had insulted the prophet Mohammed because the prophet is described in the book as having human frailties. The title and subplot in the book are based on a legend in which a number of Quranic verses whispered to Muhammad were found to be from the devil and were therefore withdrawn. Also includes The Devil’s Verses a character based on the then Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The book even caused Khomeini to call for Rushdie’s murder in a fatwa (religious-legal advice). That led to numerous death threats and several assassination attempts on the writer. Also, the Japanese translator of the book was murdered.
Born in 1947 in India, Ahmed Salman Rushdie, who had gone to study and live in England, went into hiding for ten years and received permanent protection from the British police. Since then, he has been regarded as a champion of free speech.