The 75-year-old was taken to a local hospital by helicopter. There he underwent surgery – and according to his manager, he was put on a ventilator. He cannot speak and will likely lose an eye, Andrew Wylie wrote, according to the New York Times. Nerves in his arm were severed and his liver was damaged. “The news is not good.”
There were initially no details about the background to the attack. It was initially unclear whether it was connected to the decades-old fatwa. Rushdie was sentenced to death more than 30 years ago by fatwa: Because of his work “The Satanic Verses” from 1988, the then Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini published the religious legal document that called for the author to be killed.
The crime took place at a lecture by Rushdie at the so-called Chautauqua Institution, an educational and cultural center – as part of a series entitled “More than Shelter” that explores the United States as a haven for writers in exile and the persecution of artists should be discussed.
According to police, the young man stormed the stage at the event, which was attended by hundreds of people, around 11 a.m. local time (5 p.m. CEST) and stabbed Rushdie. “Several event staff and spectators fell on the suspect and took him to the ground,” a spokesman said. A police officer arrested the 24-year-old. Meanwhile, Rushdie was treated by a doctor from the audience until emergency services arrived.
The New York Times quoted a witness as saying: “There was only one attacker. He was dressed in black. He was wearing a loose black garment. He ran towards him at lightning speed.” An Associated Press reporter said the attacker punched or stabbed Rushdie 10 to 15 times. The interviewer, who was also attacked, suffered a head injury, police said.
At the time, the Ayatollah’s Islamic legal opinion not only called for the killing of Rushdie, but also of all those who were involved in distributing the book. A Japanese translator was later actually killed. Rushdie had to go into hiding and was given police protection.
According to information from his publisher last year, the fatwa no longer had any meaning for Rushdie. He is no longer restricted in his freedom of movement and no longer needs bodyguards. However, the years of hiding did not leave him untouched. He worked through this period in the 2012 autobiography Joseph Anton, named after his alias.
A few days ago, Rushdie told Stern magazine that he felt safe in the United States. “It was a long time ago,” Rushdie said in an interview with correspondent Raphael Geiger in late July when asked if he still feared for his life. “It was serious for a few years,” Rushdie continued. “But since I’ve been living in America, I haven’t had any problems.” However, the author also warned of the political climate and possible violence in the USA: The bad thing is “that death threats have become commonplace”.
The act sparked global outrage. US Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter that the act was an “attack on freedom of speech and thought. French President Emmanuel Macron wrote that Rushdie was met with “hatred and barbarism”. Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “appalled”. Harry Potter author Joanne K. Rowling and best-selling author Stephen King also expressed their dismay and wrote that they hoped Rushdie was doing well. The American authors’ association PEN America was shocked by the attack on its former president. Rushdie has been attacked for his words for decades, but he has never wavered and never hesitated, Chairwoman Suzanne Nossel said in a statement.
Rushie was born in the year of Indian independence in 1947 in the metropolis of Mumbai (then Bombay). He later studied history at King’s College, Cambridge. He had his breakthrough as an author with the book “Midnight’s Children” (“Midnight’s Children”), which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 1981.
Rushdie has published more than two dozen fiction, nonfiction, and other writings. His style is called Magical Realism, in which realistic events are interwoven with fantastic events. Nevertheless, he is absolutely committed to the truth. He sees this increasingly in danger, which is also the focus of his recently published essays, which came out in Germany under the title “Languages of Truth”. The writer, who has lived in New York for many years, braces himself against Trumpists and corona deniers. “Truth is a struggle, there’s no question. And maybe never as much as now,” he said in an interview with US broadcaster PBS last year.