Author Salman Rushdie survives multiple stabbing attack in U.S, now ‘off ventilator and talking’

Author of controversial novel, ‘The Satanic Verses,’ Indian-born Briton, Salman Rushdie, has survived a violent attack which occurred, Friday, at an event in New York, the United States.

Rushdie was stabbed by a man multiple times which left him for dead. He was reportedly stabbed about 10 to 15 times in the neck and abdomen by his assailant identified as 24-year-old suspect Hadi Matar, said to be a New Jersey native.

According to the author’s agent, ‘Rushdie has been taken off the ventilator and is able to talk.’

Providing an update on the Rushdie’s condition, the author’s agent, Andrew Wylie, said that he was on a ventilator with a damaged liver, severed nerves in his arm. He also said that the 75-year-old novelist was likely to lose an eye.

“Utterly horrified & shocked by the stabbing of @SalmanRushdie. Wish him a speedy & complete recovery from his wounds, even though, with a sinking heart, I recognize that life for him can never be the same again. A sad day, worse if creative expression can no longer be free &open,” senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, himself a prolific writer, said in a tweet.

Rushdie remained hospitalized with serious injuries, but fellow author Aatish Taseer had also tweeted late evening that he was “off the ventilator and talking (and joking).”

Rushdie’s agent confirmed the information to Associated Press without giving further details. The tweet has, however, been deleted now.

The 75-year-old Booker Prize winner suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and an eye from about 10 to 15 stab wounds. Wylie had said Friday evening that he would ‘likely lose one eye.’

Earlier on Saturday, the 24-year-old suspect Hadi Matar, accused of attacking Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges even as a prosecutor called it a “preplanned” crime.

An attorney for Hadi Matar entered the plea on his behalf during an arraignment in western New York. The suspect appeared in court wearing a black and white jumpsuit and a white face mask, with his hands cuffed in front of him.

According to reports, a judge ordered an arrest without bail after District Attorney Jason Schmidt told her Matar took steps to purposely put himself in position to harm Rushdie by getting an advance pass to the event where the author was speaking and arriving a day early bearing a fake ID. “This was a targeted, unprovoked, preplanned attack on Mr. Rushdie,” Schmidt said.

Matar was arrested Friday by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation on grounds of attempted murder 2nd degree (B Felony) and assault 2nd degree. He was processed at State Police Jamestown and transported to Chautauqua County Jail.

Authors, activists, government officials across the world condemned the attack on Salman Rushdie as an infringement on the right to free speech, just as others expressed shock and outrage and paid their tributes and praise for the award-winning author who spent more than 30 years in hiding, due to death threats for his 1988 book The Satanic Verses.

United States President Joe Biden on Saturday released a statement saying he and first lady Jill Biden were “shocked and saddened” by the attack.

“Salman Rushdie — with his insight into humanity, with his unmatched sense for story, with his refusal to be intimidated or silenced — stands for essential, universal ideals,” the statement read, adding: “Truth. Courage. Resilience. The ability to share ideas without fear. These are the building blocks of any free and open society.”

Also reacting, former Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal called the attack “unacceptable” and stressed that we “must show zero tolerance towards hate.” He added that the attack on Rushdie was an attack on “free speech”, “culture of tolerance”, and “all that humanity stands for”.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “Condemn the cowardly attack on Salman Rushdie, this is yet another reminder of what hate and religious fanaticism can do. Here’s wishing the brave author a speedy recovery.”

Rushdie’s book, ‘The Satanic Verses’ was regarded a blasphemy by many Muslims.

The book had already been banned and burned in India, Pakistan and elsewhere before Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a ‘fatwa’, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death in 1989.

However, after Khomeini’s death, Iran’s government announced in 1998 that it would not carry out his fatwa or encourage others to do so.

Salman Rushdie was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2008 and earlier this year was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honor.

Rushdie’s 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses” was viewed as blasphemous by many Muslims and triggered violent protests in the Islamic World.

The death threats forced Rushdie to go into hiding in Britain with round-the-clock security cover.

He cautiously resumed more public appearances after nine years of seclusion but continued his outspoken criticism of religious extremism overall.

Still, 30 years later, threats against his life persist. Although mass protests have stopped, the themes and questions raised in his novel remain hotly debated.

Rushdie, who now lives in the United States and makes regular public appearances, is known for his surreal and satirical prose style, beginning with his Booker Prize-winning 1981 novel “Midnight’s Children,” in which he sharply criticized then-prime minister, Indira Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Rushdie’s attacker has been confirmed to be a 24-year-old New Jersey native.

According to a statement from the New York Police, charges against the attacker have not yet been filed since Rushdie’s condition will determine if they are. The alleged assailant has been arrested.

Hadi Matar attacked Salman Rushdie shortly after he took the podium to give his address, striking him at least twice, once in the neck and once in the belly, according to the police.

Hadi Matar was able to enter the lecture with a pass. Just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, in Fairview, was his last known place of residence.

According to police, Matar’s attack’s motivation is still unknown. He is also thought to have operated alone.

The FBI is assisting with the investigation, which is still in its very early stages, according to the New York State Police. At the location, police discovered a backpack and some electronic equipment. The event’s moderator, Henry Reese, was also attacked and had a minor head injury. Reese and Rushdie were scheduled to talk about the US as a haven for exiled artists.

An eyewitness confirmed that Hadi Matar was wearing a black mask and all-black clothing. Eyewitnesses claimed that at first, because Salman Rushdie is a controversial character, they believed the attacker’s climb onto the platform to be a ruse. However, after a few seconds, it became obvious.

About 20 seconds passed before the attack ended.

Salman Rushdie was reportedly struck or stabbed 10 to 15 times on stage, according to an AP reporter who attended the event.

According to some stories, Hadi Matar supported the Iranian government, which had demanded Rushdie’s execution. He reportedly posted a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei on his Facebook page.

Khomeini was the Iranian president who, in 1989, after the publication of The Satanic Verses, issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie.

According to an analysis of Matar’s social media, he supports Shia extremism and the goals of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). Despite the fact that Matar and the IRGC have no direct connections, investigators apparently discovered pictures of the murdered 2020 Iranian commander Qassem Solemani in Matar’s cell phone messaging app.