Salman Rushdie, an acclaimed author who was stabbed repeatedly at a public appearance in New York state on Friday, and his supporters are to blame for the attack, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a press briefing.

Freedom of speech does not justify Rushdie's insults upon religion in his writing, Kanaani said.

Iran has no other information about Rushdie's assailant except what has appeared in media, he added. (Reuters)

Salman Rushdie is still in a critical condition, but his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact, his son has said, as the Mumbai-born author battles severe, life-changing injuries.

His son, Zafar Rushdie, said that the family was “extremely relieved” that the best-selling author was taken off the ventilator and additional oxygen on Saturday and he was able to say a few words.

“Following the attack on Friday, my father remains in a critical condition in hospital receiving extensive ongoing medical treatment,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Though his life-changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact,” he said.

The family expressed gratitude to the audience members who bravely leapt to Rushdie's defence and administered first-aid after he was stabbed multiple times at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.

The family thanked the police and doctors for their care. They also expressed gratitude for the “outpouring of love and support from around the world.” “We ask for continued patience and privacy as the family comes together at his bedside to support and help him through this time,” the statement said. (PTI)

Asserting that Salman Rushdie has consistently stood up for the universal rights of freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of the press, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Iranian state institutions have incited violence against the Indian-origin author for generations and state-affiliated media recently gloated about an attempt on his life.

"We join those across the country and around the world who are keeping Salman Rushdie in our thoughts in the aftermath of this heinous attack," Blinken said in a statement.

"More than a literary giant, Rushdie has 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," he added. (PTI)

Salman Rushdie, the acclaimed author who was stabbed repeatedly at a public appearance in New York state on Friday, 33 years after Iran's then-supreme leader called for him to be killed, is off a ventilator and his health is improving, his agent and a son said on Sunday.

"He's off the ventilator, so the road to recovery has begun," his agent, Andrew Wylie, wrote in an email to Reuters. "It will be long; the injuries are severe, but his condition is headed in the right direction."

The Indian-born writer has lived with a bounty on his head following the publication of his 1988 novel "The Satanic Verses," which is viewed by some Muslims as containing blasphemous passages. In 1989 Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for his assassination.

Listen, you are young and I understand you will only be sitting in a room doing nothing for many, many years. I hope you will find time to read this letter. The world learned yesterday that you are 24. The man you tried to kill is 75. I don’t know about you but when I was 24, I was reading that man’s writings with great devotion. You might even say I was a bit fanatical in my habit.

Since the publication of The Satanic Verses in September 1988, the British-Indian writer who won the Booker Prize for his Midnight’s Children (1981) has faced innumerable threats to his life. On February 14, 1989, Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced a fatwa on Rushdie for “insulting Islam” with his novel. The repercussions of this would continue to be felt for decades to come. Even as Rushdie went into hiding following the fatwa, book bans, book burnings, firebombings and death threats continued unabated for years to come, raising important questions about freedom of expression in the arts around the world. Read the explainer here

Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega

Celebrated writer Salman Rushdie, who is currently undergoing treatment after being attacked at an event in west New York, had found himself at the centre of a controversy in India and the Islamic world for his book ‘The Satanic Verses’ that came out in 1988. The Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to ban the import of the book, the first country to do so, remains contested to this day, within the Congress as well as outside.

US President Joe Biden has expressed shock and sadness over the vicious attack on Salman Rushdie and praised the Mumbai-born author for refusing to be "intimidated or silenced" and standing for essential and universal ideals of truth, courage and resilience.

Rushdie, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident identified as Hadi Matar, a US national of Lebanese origin, on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at a literary event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.

"Jill (the first lady) and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the vicious attack on Salman Rushdie yesterday in New York. We, together with all Americans and people around the world, are praying for his health and recovery," Biden said in a statement. The US President said he was grateful to the first responders and the brave individuals who jumped into action to render aid to Rushdie and subdue the attacker. (PTI)

The man accused in the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called a “preplanned” crime, as the renowned author of The Satanic Verses remained hospitalised with serious injuries. 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.

A judge ordered him held without bail after District Attorney Jason Schmidt told her Matar took steps to purposely put himself in position to harm Rushdie, 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. Read more

Hadi Matar, 24, is a resident of Fairview, New Jersey, a state neighbouring New York. He was born in the United States to Lebanese parents who emigrated from Yaroun in southern Lebanon, the mayor of Yaroun, Ali Tehfe, told The Associated Press and Reuters. NBC News reported that an analysis of Matar’s social media accounts by law enforcement showed him to be sympathetic to Shia extremism and the causes of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an ideologically-driven branch of the Iranian armed forces committed to protecting the country’s Islamic system from hostile foreign powers and internal dissensions. What we know of Rushdie's attacker so far

At a time when any issue touched off noisy, partisan rancour, the attack on writer Salman Rushdie has seen a rare consensus in the political establishment: an evasive silence. Barring a few voices, the political class has largely stayed away from condemning the grievous assault.

One of the most controversial books in recent literary history, Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses,” was published three decades ago this month and almost immediately set off angry demonstrations all over the world, some of them violent.

A year later, in 1989, Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, ordering Muslims to kill the author. Born in India to a Muslim family, but by then a British citizen living in the U.K., Rushdie was forced to go into protective hiding for the greater part of a decade.

What was – and still is – behind this outrage? Read here

Author Salman Rushdie was taken off a ventilator and able to talk Saturday, a day after he was stabbed as he prepared to give a lecture in upstate New York. Rushdie remained hospitalized with serious injuries, but fellow author Aatish Taseer tweeted in the evening that he was “off the ventilator and talking (and joking).” Rushdie’s agent, Andrew Wylie, confirmed that information without offering further details.

@SalmanRushdie off ventilator and talking! Continued prayers from all @chq

— Michael Hill, Ed.D. (@MichaelHillCHQ) August 14, 2022

Good morning! Welcome to the Indian Express live blog. We bring to you the latest updates on author Salman Rushdie's health conditions, and more. Stay tuned

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Saturday that the attack on author Salman Rushdie is a strike on the freedom of expression.

"No one should be threatened or harmed on the basis of what they have written. I'm wishing him a speedy recovery," Trudeau said in a tweet. (Reuters)

The cowardly attack on Salman Rushdie is a strike on the freedom of expression that our world relies on. No one should be threatened or harmed on the basis of what they have written. I’m wishing him a speedy recovery.

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) August 13, 2022

World Health Organisation Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he is shocked and saddened by the brutal attack on author Salman Rushdie, calling it “cowardice and abhorrent.”

The 75-year-old Mumbai-born writer, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident identified as Hadi Matar on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.

“Shocked and saddened by the brutal attack on #SalmanRushdie. This is cowardice and abhorrent. My thoughts are with him and his loved ones,” Ghebreyesus tweeted. Matar, who stabbed author Salman Rushdie, is facing charges of attempted murder and assault. (PTI)

The man suspected of attacking novelist Salman Rushdie on Friday has been charged with attempted murder and assault, prosecutors said on Saturday.

"The individual responsible for the attack yesterday, Hadi Mattar, has now been formally charged with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and Assault in the Second Degree," Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said in a statement on Saturday.

"He was arraigned on these charges last night and remanded without bail," the statement added. (Reuters)

Celebrated writer Salman Rushdie, who is currently undergoing treatment after being attacked at an event in west New York, had found himself at the centre of a controversy in India and the Islamic world for his book ‘The Satanic Verses’ that came out in 1988. The Rajiv Gandhi government’s decision to ban the import of the book, the first country to do so, remains contested to this day, within the Congress as well as outside.

P Chidambaram, who was the Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Rajiv Government, said in November 2015 that “he had no hesitation in saying that the decision to ban the book was wrong”.

The issue had figured in the Parliament repeatedly during discussions over the years, with the A B Vajpayee government’s decision to allow him to travel to India triggering a political firestorm in 1999. A look at the references to the book in the Parliament

Shocked over the attack on Salman Rushdie, the literary world on Saturday spoke in unison against the violence and stressed upholding freedom of speech while wishing a speedy recovery to the Booker Prize-winning author.

The Mumbai-born controversial author, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing 'The Satanic Verses', was stabbed by a 24-year-old man on Friday while he was being introduced at an event in New York in the US.

Geetanjali Shree, the first Indian to join the esteemed club of International Booker-winning authors, described the attack on Rushdie as an "inexcusable and inhuman" act.

"Where is humanity going? A day of such distress, such shame. We pray for the fast recovery of this votary of democracy and freedom of speech. Violence must not be allowed to become the way of dealing with difference of opinion," Shree said. (PTI)

The suspect in the attack on Salman Rushdie at an event in New York state was sympathetic to Shi'ite extremism and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), NBC New York cited law enforcement sources as saying on Saturday.

Indian-born author Rushdie, who spent years in hiding after Iran urged Muslims to kill him over his novel "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed in the neck and torso on stage at a lecture on Friday. After hours of surgery, Rushdie was on a ventilator and unable to speak on Friday evening.

Police have identified the suspect in custody as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from Fairview, New Jersey, who bought a pass to the event at western New York's Chautauqua Institution. Reuters could not immediately establish whether Matar had legal representation. (Reuters)

Ever since it came out in 1988, Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses has been one of the most controversial books in the world. After Muslims from across the globe began making a hue and cry about the book, alleging that it mocked their faith, various national governments, including the Indian government under Rajiv Gandhi, banned the import and sale of the work.

On learning about the Indian government’s decision, the author shot off a strongly-worded letter to the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The New York Times published a version of the letter on October 19, 1988, Section A, Page 27 of the National edition with the headline: ‘India Bans a Book For Its Own Good.’

In the letter, Rushdie expressed his exasperation over the government’s move to ban the book “after representations by two or three Muslim politicians, including Syed Shahabuddin and Khurshid Alam Khan, both members of Parliament.” Read more

Check out our full gallery here

An official from Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said on Saturday the group had no additional information on the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie.

“We don't know anything about this subject so we will not comment,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. (Reuters)

Senior member of All-India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali on Saturday said no one has the right to take law into his hand and the attack on controversial writer Salman Rushdie can't be termed as correct.

The Mumbai-born controversial author, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed by a 24-year-old man on Friday while he was being introduced at an event in Western New York in the US.

Mahali said Prophet Mohammed always gave the message of peace. "Hence, the Muslims should take the path shown by Him," he said. (PTI)

In an interview conducted just weeks before he was stabbed and seriously wounded by an attacker in New York state, author Salman Rushdie said his life was now "relatively normal", after having lived in hiding for years because of death threats.

Rushdie talked in the interview with Germany's Stern magazine about the threats he sees to U.S. democracy. He also called himself an optimist, and noted that the fatwa, a religious edict issued in Iran in 1989 that called on Muslims around the world to kill him for blasphemy, was pronounced long ago.

The interview is due to appear in the magazine on Aug. 18, but Stern released it on Saturday, a day after the attack on Rushdie. The interview was conducted about two weeks ago, the magazine's editorial office said. (Reuters)

Hindi film celebrities such as Javed Akhtar, Kangana Ranaut and Swara Bhasker have criticised the attack on renowned novelist Salman Rushdie, calling it an "appalling" and "barbaric" act.

Noted writer-lyricist Akhtar said he hopes a strong action will be taken against the attacker. “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,” he said in a post on Twitter.

Sharing a new article about the attack on her Instagram Stories, Ranaut said she is shocked beyond words. “Another day, another appalling act by jihadis. The Satanic Verses is one of the greatest book of it's time... I am shaken beyond words... Appalling (sic),” the actor wrote.

Bhasker called the attack "shameful" and "dastardly". “Thoughts and prayers for #SalmanRushdie. Shameful, condemnable and dastardly this attack! #SalmanRushdieStabbed,” she wrote. (PTI)

Salman Rushdie was attacked at New York’s Chautauqua Institution on Friday (August 12) morning (in the United States) by a 24-year-old man called Hadi Matar. The author has been put on a ventilator in hospital, he is unable to speak, and he might lose an eye, his agent told reporters.

Rushdie has been living under a fatwa issued by Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini since 1989, after some parts of his 1988 novel ‘The Satanic Verses’, were deemed blasphemous. In July 1991, Hitoshi Igarashi, the novel’s Japanese translator, was stabbed dead in Japan, and its Italian translator, Ettore Capriolo, was injured in a knife attack in Milan. In October 1993, the Norwegian publisher of ‘The Satanic Verses’, William Nygaard, was shot and wounded in Oslo. Who is Salman Rushdie’s attacker? We explain

Salman Rushdie, who was attacked and stabbed on stage at a literary event here, has previously complained about having too much security around him, according to a media report on Saturday.

The Mumbai-born writer, who faced Islamist death threats for years after writing "The Satanic Verses", was stabbed by a 24-year-old New Jersey resident identified as Hadi Matar on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at the event of the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.

A bloodied Rushdie was airlifted from a field adjacent to the venue to a hospital in northwestern Pennsylvania where the 75-year-old writer underwent surgery. In 2001, Rushdie publicly complained about having too much security around him, The New York Post reported. (PTI)

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among several senior politicians and authors in the UK who took to social media to express their shock at the “appalling” attack on Booker Prize-winning author Sir Salman Rushdie, condemning the stabbing in New York as an attack on freedom of expression.

“Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend,” tweeted Johnson. “Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is okay,” he said.

Former Chancellor and contender to succeed Johnson as the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, also took to Twitter to express his shock. “Shocked to hear of the attack on Salman Rushdie in New York. A champion of free speech and artistic freedom. He's in our thoughts tonight,” he said. (PTI)

Several hardline Iranian newspapers poured praise on Saturday on the person who attacked and seriously wounded author Salman Rushdie, whose novel “The Satanic Verses” had drawn death threats from Iran since 1989.

There was no official reaction yet in Iran to the attack on Rushdie, who was stabbed in the neck and torso on Friday while onstage at a lecture in New York state.

However, the hardline Kayhan newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, wrote: “A thousand bravos ... to the brave and dutiful person who attacked the apostate and evil Salman Rushdie in New York," adding, “The hand of the man who tore the neck of God's enemy must be kissed”.

The leader of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, in 1989 that called on Muslims around the world to kill the Indian-born author after his book was condemned as blasphemous, forcing him into years of hiding. (Reuters)

In The Satanic Verses (1988), that made writer Salman Rushdie a faultline in the battle for free speech, he wrote: “Language is courage: the ability to conceive a thought, to speak it, and by doing so to make it true.” What Rushdie did not write was that violence is cowardice, especially when it is used to threaten, intimidate and erase words and voices that some find offensive or unpalatable. 

Hadi Matar, who attacked Rushdie, stabbing him several times on a stage before he was about to speak at Chautauqua Institution in New York state, in a discussion about the United States as a safe haven for exiled writers and other artists who are under the threat of persecution, tried to silence his words with a knife. But ideas are stronger than the weapons used to target them. Despite the severe injuries he is battling, what Rushdie continues to stand for – more than ever – is the right not only to speak but also to offend. (Read more)

Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega

K Natwar Singh, who was a Union minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government that banned Salman Rushdie's controversial book The Satanic Verses, strongly defended the decision on Saturday asserting it was taken "purely" for law and order reasons.

With focus back on Rushdie's book in the wake of the attack on him in New York, Singh, who was the minister of state for external affairs when the book was banned in 1988, said he was part of the decision and had told the then prime minister the book could cause serious law and order problems as feelings were running very high. Singh (91) rejected as "rubbish" the charge by critics the Rajiv Gandhi government's decision to ban the book was driven by appeasement towards Muslims.

"I don't think it (the decision to ban the book) was wrong because you see it had led to law and order problems, particularly in Kashmir. In other parts of India also there was disquiet," Singh told PTI.

"Rajiv Gandhi asked me what should be done. I said, 'all my life I have been totally opposed to banning books but when it comes to law and order even a book of a great writer like Rushdie should be banned'," the diplomat-turned-politician said. (PTI)

Several Iranian newspapers carried the news of the attack on Salman Rushdie. Here's a glimpse at how the papers and the public reacted to the news.

After the attack, some longtime visitors to the centre questioned why there wasn’t tighter security for the event, given the decades of threats against Salman Rushdie and a bounty on his head offering more than $3 million for anyone who kills him.

Rabbi Charles Savenor was among the roughly 2,500 people in the audience. Amid gasps, spectators were ushered out of the outdoor amphitheater. The assailant ran onto the platform “and started pounding on Mr. Rushdie. At first you’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then it became abundantly clear in a few seconds that he was being beaten,” Savenor said. He said the attack lasted about 20 seconds.

Another spectator, Kathleen James, said the attacker was dressed in black, with a black mask. “We thought perhaps it was part of a stunt to show that there’s still a lot of controversy around this author. But it became evident in a few seconds” that it wasn’t, she said. (AP)

Dr. Martin Haskell, a physician who was among those who rushed to help Salman Rushdie after he was stabbed at a New York state book event, described the author’s wounds as “serious but recoverable.”

An Associated Press reporter witnessed the attacker confront Rushdie on stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stab or punch him 10 to 15 times as he was being introduced. The author was pushed or fell to the floor, and the man was arrested. (AP)

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that it's sad if creative expression can no longer be free and open. "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," added Tharoor. 

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.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 13, 2022

The 24-year-old man detained in connection with the stabbing of Salman Rushdie was sympathetic to "Shia extremism" and the causes of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a media report.

Authorities were still looking into Hadi Matar's nationality and his criminal records, if any.

A preliminary review of Matar's social media accounts by law enforcement showed him to be sympathetic to Shia extremism and the causes of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a law enforcement person with direct knowledge of the investigation told NBC News. (PTI)

Author Salman Rushdie was attacked and apparently stabbed Friday by a man who rushed onstage as Rushdie was about to deliver a lecture in Western New York. Rushdie has repeatedly received death threats from Iran since 1980s for his writing.

#SalmanRushdie just attacked onstage at @chq @NBCNews @ABC @cnnbrk pic.twitter.com/I1XT6AmkhK

— Charles Savenor (@CharlieSavenor) August 12, 2022

Reporter Joshua Goodman travelled with his family to the Chautauqua Institution in western New York for a peaceful week away from the news. Instead, the news found him. Goodman, an Associated Press correspondent for Latin America based in Miami, was attending a lecture by author Salman Rushdie on Friday when Rushdie was stabbed onstage.

“It was very surreal is the only way you'd describe it,” Goodman said. “This was the last place you'd expect something like this.”

The moment Salman Rushdie’s attacker was led off stage at the @chq. Via @AP.

For more than a century the Chautauqua Institution has been a summer oasis for reflection, study and prayer. Today it’s also a crime scene. pic.twitter.com/wP6J7doF1Y

— Joshua Goodman (@APjoshgoodman) August 12, 2022

Rushdie was seated and was being introduced when his attacker climbed onstage and began assaulting him. From his vantage point, Goodman said he wasn't sure if Rushdie was being punched or stabbed, until he could see what appeared to be blood. “There was a moment of shock,” he said. “Everyone in the audience was sitting in disbelief.”

When an officer with a police dog and others rushed toward the stage, Goodman realized what was happening and switched into reporter mode. He quickly sent an email to several of his editors at AP about what was happening and headed toward the stage himself. (AP)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "appalled" to learn about the attack on author Salman Rushdie, saying that in no case is violence a response to words spoken or written by others in their exercise of the freedoms of opinion and expression.

"The Secretary-General was appalled to learn of the attack on renowned novelist Salman Rushdie," a statement issued on Friday by his spokesperson said. "In no case is violence a response to words spoken or written by others in their exercise of the freedoms of opinion and expression," Guterres said, conveying his wishes for Rushdie's early recovery. (PTI)

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack on Salman Rushdie and extended solidarity to the author, saying 'his fight is our fight.'

For 33 years, Salman Rushdie has embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism. He has just been the victim of a cowardly attack by the forces of hatred and barbarism. His fight is our fight; it is universal. Now more than ever, we stand by his side.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 12, 2022

Minutes after author Salman Rushdie was stabbed on Friday, police took a 24-year-old man into custody.  Law enforcement officials have identified the attacker as Hadi Matar. The 24-year-old man reportedly hails from New Jersey.

Police did not describe the weapon used. They said they have not zeroed in on the motive. “But we are working with the FBI, the Sheriff’s Office and we will determine what the cause of this was and what the motive for this attack was,” said Major Eugene Staniszewski of the New York State Police, reported PTI. (Read more)

The attack on Salman Rushdie, the novelist who was stabbed in the neck and torso onstage at a lecture in New York on Friday, was appalling, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.

The attack on Salman Rushdie is appalling. We’re all praying for his speedy recovery. And we’re thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping him so swiftly.

— Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) August 13, 2022

"We're all praying for his speedy recovery. And we're thankful to good citizens and first responders for helping him so swiftly," he wrote on Twitter on Friday. (Reuters)

PEN America, an advocacy group for freedom of expression of which Salman Rushdie is a former president, said it was "reeling from shock and horror" at what it called an unprecedented attack on a writer in the United States.

“PEN International utterly condemns the brutal attack on Salman Rushdie. Salman is an esteemed and celebrated author and beloved member of the PEN community" - Burhan Sonmez, PEN International President. Read the statement: https://t.co/1NKsfJV99Z #SalmanRushdie pic.twitter.com/wMbvnPLBEf

— PEN International (@pen_int) August 12, 2022

"Salman Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades but has never flinched nor faltered," Suzanne Nossel, PEN's chief executive, said in the statement. Earlier in the morning, Rushdie had emailed her to help with relocating Ukrainian writers seeking refuge, she said. (Reuters)

Authors, writers and activists across the globe condemned the attack on Salman Rushdie at a lecture stage in New York Friday.

Bangladeshi-Swedish writer Taslima Nasreen expressed her shock over the incident saying she “never thought such a thing would happen” and added that “if Salman Rushdie is attacked, anyone who is critical of Islam can be attacked.”

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) August 12, 2022

Since the publication of The Satanic Verses in September 1988, the British-Indian writer who won the Booker Prize for his Midnight’s Children (1981) has faced innumerable threats to his life. On February 14, 1989, Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini pronounced a fatwa on Rushdie for “insulting Islam” with his novel. The repercussions of this would continue to be felt for decades to come. Even as Rushdie went into hiding following the fatwa, book bans, book burnings, firebombings and death threats continued unabated for years to come, raising important questions about freedom of expression in the arts around the world.

In an interview to Channel 4 in 1989, soon after the publication of The Satanic Verses, Rushdie had responded to the rising criticism of the book by making a case for freedom of expression. “If you don’t want to read a book, you don’t have to read it. It’s very hard to be offended by The Satanic Verses — it requires a long period of intense reading. It’s a quarter of a million words.” (Read more)

“Yes, I would write The Satanic Verses again.”

That was Salman Rushdie in January 2013, in The Indian Express, where he had dropped by for Idea Exchange, the newsroom’s weekly interaction with newsmakers.

He was referring to his 1988 novel that had set off a series of death threats against him and forced him to live in hiding for nearly a decade following the pronouncement of a fatwa against him by Iran’s religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini. (Read more)

Salman Rushdie, whose novel “The Satanic Verses” drew death threats from Iran’s leader in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen Friday by a man who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York. A bloodied Rushdie, 75, was flown to a hospital and underwent surgery.