Author Salman Rushdie was violently attacked on stage in Chautauqua, New York on Friday morning, August 12. Hours after the attack, police confirmed 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey was responsible for stabbing the 75-year-old author, whose writing led to death threats from Iran since the 1980s.
Rushdie was approaching the stage at the Chautauqua Institution to give a lecture when Matar stabbed him in the neck, and at least once in the abdomen. An interviewer, Ralph Henry Reese, was also attacked. Reese sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Both staff and audience members detained Matar before he was taken by the police. Rushdie and Reese were scheduled to discuss the “United States as asylum for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression,” according to the institution’s website.
Airlifted to a local hospital afterward, Rushdie underwent surgery Friday afternoon. Since then, his agent has confirmed that he is “on the road to recovery.” Reese was treated for a facial injury and then later released.
Matar pleaded not guilty on Saturday, August 13, to attempted murder and assault charges. District Attorney Jason Schmidt argues Matar intended to harm Rushdie, getting an advance pass to the event that the author was speaking at and arriving a day early with a fake ID, according to the Syracuse Times. Matar is being held without bail.
Rosaria Calabrese, manager of the State of Fitness Boxing Club, the North Bergen gym that Matar attended, stated that an email was received from Matar a few days prior to the attack on Rushdie. Matar was asking to cancel his membership because “he wouldn’t be coming back for a while.”
Rushdie, a native of India who has lived in Britain and the United States, is well known for his controversial books. His 1981 Booker Prize winning novel, Midnight’s Children, criticized then-Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. In 1988, The Satanic Verses drew death threats, with many Muslims regarding the book as blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.
The Satanic Verses was banned and burned in India, Pakistan and elsewhere. In 1989, Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued an edict calling for Rushdie’s death. Although Khomini died that same year, the edict remains in effect. Iran’s current leader, Khamenei, never issued an edict of his own, and in recent years, Iran hasn’t focused on Rushdie.
District Attorney Schmidt sees the edict against Rushdie as motive for Matar. “We understand the agenda that was carried out yesterday is something that was adopted by larger groups and organizations well beyond jurisdictional borders of Chautauqua County,” said Schmidt.
Matar was born in the United States to parents who emigrated from south Lebanon. Since the attack, Matar has lost his mother’s support. His mother has made claims that her son “changed” after visiting Lebanon in 2018.
In a jailhouse interview, Matar stated he was surprised Rushdie survived the attack. Not only did Matar say he read only a couple of pages of Rushdie’s novel, but also, per the New York Post, “I don’t like the person. I don’t think he’s a good person. I don’t like him. I don’t like him very much.”
“He’s someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their beliefs, the belief systems,” Matar added.
Many prominent figures took to social media to express their concerns for Rushdie, including President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Governor Hochul.
Rushdie’s family also commented:
“Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humor remains intact,” Rushdie’s son Zafar Rushdie said in a statement on Sunday. The family also took time to thank “audience members who bravely leapt to his defense.” The family expressed gratitude for police and doctors along with “the outpouring of love and support from around the world.”
Friday’s events have led to a resurgence in sales for The Satanic Verses, as many people are interested in its contents following the attack. It now ranks as Number 13 on Amazon.com.
