The health of the renowned author is unknown as photographs from social media purport to depict the attack’s aftermath.
Salman Rushdie, the writer whose works led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked as he was about to give a lecture in western New York.
An Associated Press reporter witnessed a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced. The writer was taken or fell to the floor, and the man was restrained.
Rushdie is the author of several novels that won widespread acclaim, including Midnight’s Children, which won the Booker Prize in 1981.
Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses” has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous.
Author Salman Rushdie was attacked while preparing to give a lecture in New York.
Witnesses say the man rushed the stage and punched or stabbed Rushdie, 75.
Rushdie has faced death threats since his book “The Satanic Verses” was banned in Iran in 1988.https://t.co/AmxCYAdYrG
— Ravi Karkara (@ravikarkara) August 12, 2022
Iranian award for killing Rushdie
A year later, Iran’s late leader Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death.
A bounty of over $3 million has also been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie.
Iran’s government has long since distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, but anti-Rushdie sentiment lingered.
In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for Rushdie from $2.8 million to $3.3 million.
Rushdie dismissed that threat at the time, saying there was “no evidence” of people being interested in the reward.
That year, Rushdie published a memoir, “Joseph Anton,” about the fatwa.
