‘Satanic Verses’ author Salman Rushdie attacked with knife
12.08.2022 22:13
‘Satanic Verses’ author Salman Rushdie attacked with knife
Twitter / @poonamkaushel
Rushdie, 75, was preparing to give a speech at the Chautauqua Institution. Unverified photos circulating on social media show the Indian-born British-American novelist being taken away in an ambulance.
“Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck,” the New York State Police said in a statement said. He was airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital.
Authorities have not yet identified the assailant. Major outlets have speculated the attack could be related to the 1989 fatwa declared by Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, offering a bounty on Rushdie’s head for his novel ‘The Satanic Verses,’ declared blasphemous in the Islamic Republic.
While Iran has officially backtracked from the fatwa, an Iranian religious foundation offered a $3.3 million bounty for Rushdie in 2012.