From the United States to Iran, what are the reactions to the attack on Salman Rushdie?

Salman Rushdie, author of “Satanic Verses” and target for more than 30 years of a fatwa from Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, was placed on a ventilator after being stabbed in the neck and abdomen in New York State on August 12 by a man who been arrested. “Salman will probably lose an eye; the nerves in his arm were severed and he was stabbed in the liver“, details to the New York Times his agent Andrew Wylie. He specifies that Salman Rushdie, 75, is placed on an artificial respirator. The attack occurred while Salman Rushdie was preparing to give a conference in an amphitheater in Chautauqua, New York State in the United States Around the world, many personalities denounce the attack on the British writer.

International excitement

French President Emmanuel Macron considers that “Salman Rushdie embodies freedom and the fight against obscurantism“for 33 years.”We are today, more than ever, at his side“, he wrote on his Twitter account. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also reacted on the same social network. He said to himself “appalled that Salman Rushdie was stabbed while exercising a right we should never stop defending.”

Appalled that Sir Salman Rushdie has been stabbed while exercising a right we should never cease to defend.

Right now my thoughts are with his loved ones. We are all hoping he is okay.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) August 12, 2022

New York State Senator Chuck Schumer describes a “shocking and appalling attack“. “It is an attack on the freedom of expression and thought, which are two fundamental values ​​of our country and of the Chautauqua Institution.he says. I hope Salman Rushdie makes a speedy and full recovery and that the perpetrator receives full accountability and justice.“Kathy Ochul, the state governor considers the attack on Salman Rushdie to be”an attack on our most sacred value – freedom of expression.“

Today’s attack on Salman Rushdie was also an attack on some of our most sacred values — the free expression of thought.

We condemn all violence.
We stand up to attacks on our fundamental rights.
And we remain firm in our commitment to freedom to speak and to write truth. pic.twitter.com/rwRSNn40VU

— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) August 12, 2022

Masih Alinejad, Iranian journalist and activist condemns “the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie. After surviving a kidnapping and assassination attempt in New York, I will no longer feel safe on American soil until the United States acts against terror.“Jodie Ginsberg, chair of the Journalists Protection Committee is shocked by the news.”Salman Rushdie has always been a strong supporter of the right to freedom of expression for all“, she declares.

Around the world, “horrified” writers

Many writers reacted to Salman Rushdie’s attack. Among them, the American Stephen King, master of suspense. “I hope Salman Rushdie is well“, he writes on his Twitter account. Khaled Osseini, Afghan-American author says to himself “totally horrified by the cowardly attack on Salman Rushdie.” “It’s an essential voice and it can’t be silenced“, continues the author of “Kabul Kites.”

I hope Salman Rushdie is okay.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 12, 2022

For British novelist Ian McEwan, the attack represents “an assault on freedom of thought and expression.“He considers his”cher ami“Salman Rushdie as One”fiery and generous spirit, a man with immense talent and courage.”

“Nothing justifies a fatwa, a death sentence”is indicated Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper decimated by an Islamist attack in 2015, after the attack on the writer Salman Rushdie. “At the time of writing, we do not know the motivations of the author of the knife attack against Salman Rushdie. Was he revolted against global warming, against the decline in purchasing power or against the ban on watering flowerpots because of the heat wave?“wrote ironically Riss, chief editor of Charlie Hebdo and one of the few survivors of the 2015 attack, in a post on the newspaper’s website.

Iran’s conservative press congratulates the assailant

In Iran, where Salman Rushdie has been the target of a fatwa for more than 30 years, the discourse is different. Iran’s main ultra-conservative daily, Kayhan, congratulates the man who stabbed the British writer. “Kudos to this brave and duty-conscious man who attacked the apostate and vicious Salman Rushdie“, writes the newspaper, whose boss is appointed by the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Iranian authorities have so far not officially commented on the assassination attempt on the 75-year-old intellectual. Toeing the official line, the entire Iranian media called Salman Rushdie “abet“, with the exception ofAdvances, a reformist newspaper. The daily Irana state-run newspaper, believes that “devil’s neck” has been “struck by a razor“.

I won’t be shedding tears for a writer who spouts endless hatred & contempt for Muslims & Islam. A pawn of empire who poses as a Postcolonial novelist.

But, isn’t it odd that as we near a potential nuclear deal, the US makes claims about a hit on Bolton… and then this happens? pic.twitter.com/zFu9qhd3Qq

— Seyed Mohammad Marandi (@s_m_marandi) August 12, 2022

Mohammad Marandi, adviser to the team of negotiators on the nuclear file in Iran reacted on his Twitter account. “I will not shed tears for a writer who denounces with infinite hatred and contempt Muslims and Islam“, he writes.