Booker Prize-winning novelist, Salman Rushdie, was stabbed and suffered a neck wound when a man stormed the stage during an event in New York on Friday while he was getting ready to deliver a lecture.
Salman Rushdie, the Mumbai-born controversial author who faced Islamist death threats after writing 'The Satanic Verses', was attacked and suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck when a man stormed the stage during an event in New York on Friday while he was getting ready to deliver a lecture, the NYPD said.
Rushdie, 75, who won the Booker Prize for his novel Midnight's Children', was stabbed by a man on stage while he was being introduced at the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.
He fell through a barrier to the stage and was seen with blood on his hands. The audience tackled the attacker and Rushdie was then treated onstage following the assault.
Also read: Salman Rushdie stabbed in neck during event in New York
State Police are investigating an attack on author Salman Rushdie prior to a speaking event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. On August 12, 2022, at about 11 a.m., a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer, New York Police said in a statement.
Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital. His condition is not yet known. The interviewer suffered a minor head injury. A State Trooper assigned to the event immediately took the suspect into custody. The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene, it said.
State Police are investigating an attack on author Salman Rushdie. https://t.co/U2OL1S0evh
— NewYorkStatePolice (@nyspolice)Rushdie's fourth book The Satanic Verses in 1988 forced him into hiding for nine years. A year after the book's publication, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie's execution for publishing the book for its blasphemous content.
Since the 1980s, Rushdie's writing has led to death threats from Iran, which has offered a USD 3 million reward for anyone who kills him. "Thank you to the swift response of @nyspolice & first responders following today's attack of author Salman Rushdie. Our thoughts are with Salman & his loved ones following this horrific event. I have directed State Police to further assist however needed in the investigation," said New York State Governor Kathy Hochul.
Thank you to the swift response of & first responders following today's attack of author Salman Rushdie.
Our thoughts are with Salman & his loved ones following this horrific event. I have directed State Police to further assist however needed in the investigation.
A leading literary organisation expressed shock and horror at the brutal, premeditated attack on Rushdie.
"PEN America is reeling from shock and horror at word of a brutal, premeditated attack on our former President and stalwart ally, Salman Rushdie, who was reportedly stabbed multiple times while on stage speaking at the Chautauqua Institute in upstate New York," PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement.
"We can think of no comparable incident of a public violent attack on a literary writer on American soil. While we do not know the origins or motives of this attack, all those around the world who have met words with violence or called for the same are culpable for legitimising this an assault on a writer while he was engaged in his essential work of connecting to readers," she said.
... in his essential work of connecting to readers. Our thoughts and passions now lie with our dauntless Salman, wishing him a full and speedy recovery. We hope and believe fervently that his essential voice cannot and will not be silenced.” https://t.co/7A2olDJQos
— PEN America (@PENamerica)Nossel said that just hours before the attack, Salman had emailed her to help with placements for Ukrainian writers in need of safe refuge from the grave perils they face.
"Salman Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades but has never flinched nor faltered. He has devoted tireless energy to assisting others who are vulnerable and menaced. Our thoughts and passions now lie with our dauntless Salman, wishing him a full and speedy recovery. We hope and believe fervently that his essential voice cannot and will not be silenced," Nossel said.
Several users on the social media site posted visuals from the event in Chautauqua, New York that showed emergency medical crews and other authorities on stage at the event where Rushdie was reportedly stabbed. One Twitter user said the amphitheater where the event was being held has been evacuated and Rushdie was taken off the stage while the attacker is in custody.
Rushdie was at the Chautauqua Institution on August 12 for a special Chautauqua Lecture Series event exploring the Week Seven theme of More than Shelter', joined by Henry Reese, co-founder of the Pittsburgh nonprofit City of Asylum the largest residency programme in the world for writers living in exile under threat of persecution for a discussion of the United States as asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression.
One of the most celebrated authors of our time, Salman Rushdie is the author of 14 novels, four works of nonfiction and a collection of short stories, in addition to serving as co-editor of two anthologies, the organisation said. The winner of many of the world's top literary prizes, Rushdie served as founding president in 1994 of the International Parliament of Writers (now the International Network of Cities of Asylum), an organisation formed to create structures capable of aiding and supporting persecuted writers, and what eventually became known as the Cities of Asylum Network, it said.
Rushdie's works include Luka and the Fire of Life; Grimus; Midnight's Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and, later, the Best of the Booker); Shame; The Satanic Verses; Haroun and the Sea of Stories; The Moor's Last Sigh; The Ground Beneath Her Feet; Fury; Shalimar the Clown among others. His memoir is titled Joseph Anton, named for the pseudonym he used while in hiding following the fatwa that had been issued by Khomeini in the midst of widespread controversy over Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses.
Here's a look at some of the reactions on Twitter:
I hope Salman Rushdie is okay.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing)Unhinged men wanting to police the world through violence. Salman Rushdie stabbed today. FBI attacked yesterday. I fear these examples of violence will only keep escalating with polarization, disinformation and extremism going mainstream.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli)I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie by some fanatic . I hope that NY police and the court will take the strongest action possible against the attacker .
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu)Salman Rushdie wrote the Satanic Verses 34 years ago. A fatwa was issued & put all FoE in danger. Make no mistake the attack on him was carried out by terrorists today. Hope Rushdie recovers. In total solidarity with Rushdie
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal)How do they still not grasp that their efforts to kill Salman Rushdie only makes others want to read him more?
— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️⚧️🇺🇦 (@cmclymer)This Salman Rushdie quote hits hard today. pic.twitter.com/Rd2y3a4SRY
— laney (@laneymakesstuff)No idea what the motive is here, but everyone should remember that the bounty on Salman Rushdie’s head from the Iranian government remains active and the Twitter account of Iran’s supreme leader was locked a few years ago for reminding people of that. https://t.co/oDATIzMluJ
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar)I was there 2 weeks ago giving a talk. It's a lovely place with a fantastic, curious and welcoming community. This is shocking. I hope Salman Rushdie isn't injured and can recover and heal quickly. How disgusting. https://t.co/mBGPg0WBtH
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli)Salman Rushdie wrote satanic verses in 1988 and stabbed in 2022 for it!
That too in the USA.
Now think about Nupur Sharma!
You can kill us but you cannot kill the idea of writing & fighting for our dignity.
I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie.
After surviving a kidnapping and an assassination plot in New York, I won’t feel safe on US soil until the US take strong action against terror. pic.twitter.com/AGEwlxWFxQ
You can k!ll one Salman Rushdie, but not his idea or writings. The ideas of Salman Rushdie will be alive among crores . The more you attack the more it will grow . pic.twitter.com/CZNvVffV4T
— Subham. (@subhsays)I'm shocked and distressed to see my friend has been attacked before a talk. He's a good man and a brilliant one and I hope he's okay. https://t.co/URkHxLGE7o
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself)Attack on is horrible
it’s an attack on the foundation of freedom and democracy
Such attacks need to be condemned in one voice
ideology that cause such attacks need to be curbed decisively
Praying for fast recovery of the brave Salman Rushdie
Such shocking news of Salman Rushdie having been stabbed. This is horrific. Am distraught. Please, please let him be ok
— Nigella Lawson (@Nigella_Lawson)Read this along with news of attack on Salman Rushdie in NY today. 34 years have passed since The Satanic Verses was published. Nupur Sharma will never be able to lead a normal life ever again. https://t.co/O1IeEH4y8x
— Sunanda Vashisht (@sunandavashisht)The fatwa against Rushdie has never been revoked. If this is tied to Iran, it demonstrates once again that American attempts to woo the ayatollahs are an act of supreme idiocy. https://t.co/te8Ky2Jlrf
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro)Salman Rushdie was just stabbed - there’s been a fatwa on him from the Ayatollah of Iran since 1989. Comes right after the arrest of someone Iran paid $300k to kill John Bolton and the threats to Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn. I’m going to say it’s not a coincidence.
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov)Whether it's the teacher in France or Batley and spen
Whether it's the Charlie hebdo authors or Salman Rushdie
Or the cinema workers.
How many more times are we going to let them get away with this?
We should be free to criticise all religions
I feel sick to my stomach, sending prayers to Salman Rushdie. Wtf.
— NoelCaslerComedy (@caslernoel)I just learned that Salman Rushdie was attacked in New York. I am really shocked. I never thought it would happen. He has been living in the West, and he has been protected since 1989. If he is attacked, anyone who is critical of Islam can be attacked. I am worried.
— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen)Please let him be ok. https://t.co/6Jnru5tOyP
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt)I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Islam is not above criticism.
Salman Rushdie being stabbed in New York is yet another example of why we must never bow down to censorship or extremism.
What happened to Salman Rushdie is what Nupur Sharma & her family have to fear every single day of their lives. Rushdie wrote the 'Blasphemous' book in 1988 & Jihadists have got him after 34 years. Human rights cannot apply for animals who have no regard for life & suffering.
— Cogito (@cogitoiam)Salman Rushdie: "Nobody has the right to not be offended. That right doesn't exist in any declaration I have ever read.
"If you are offended it is your problem, & frankly lots of things offend lots of people."
The truth, spoken by the epitome of bravery.https://t.co/FoGSmytUvn
Shocking…
More than 30 years of threats just for creative thinking. Let’s hope he’s OK… and let’s never give up on free speech and the brave people who keep us all free !https://t.co/j6KCxgkJHH
The attack on Salman Rushdie after 34 years of publication of Satanic Verses should remind us Indians about the blasphemy evil back home, stoked and abetted by Left liberals. Islamist frenzy has become this widespread only because of the blind Left liberal backing.
— Vikas Saraswat (@VikasSaraswat)Awful news about the attack of Salman Rushdie that's the price people are having to pay to speak freely.
What's happening to the west?
BREAKING: Author Salman Rushdie, the subject of an ongoing fatwa from Iran over his book Satanic Verses, sparking many death threats over the years, has been stabbed on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York State. pic.twitter.com/wLEWkA3xC1
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan)Awful news of cowardly attack on 75-year old Salman Rushdie - Booker Prize winner - whose book The Satanic Verses caused Khomeini to out a bounty on his life in 1989 causing UK to sever diplomatic relations with Iran - no news of his condition & unclear if Rushdie was stabbed.
— Shanlon Wu (@shanlonwu)Feeling very sick right now. Let him be ok.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling)(With inputs from PTI)