Stabbing of Salman Rushdie

Rushdie had been living under threat of assassination since 1989.[7] The Satanic Verses, his fourth novel, garnered critical acclaim as well as threats from hardliner Shia Muslims upon its 1988 publication.[8] Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran at the time, issued a 1989 fatwa calling for Rushdie's assassination,[9][10] forcing Rushdie into hiding for several years.[11] Hitoshi Igarashi, who translated The Satanic Verses in Japanese, was stabbed to death in July 1991. Ten days before, the book's Italian translator Ettore Capriolo was stabbed multiple times at his home in Milan.[12]

The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order set a US$3 million bounty on Rushdie, with the 15 Khordad Foundation offering to pay it.[13] The bounty against Rushdie has never been lifted, though in 1998, the government of Iran looked to distance itself from the fatwa and pledged to cease the urge that it be carried out. In 2017, however, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reaffirmed that the edict remained in effect, saying, "The decree is as Imam Khomeini issued."[14][15]

In the years prior to the stabbing, Rushdie traveled without a security detail, and the Chautauqua festival where he was speaking was known for its "accessible" and "relaxed environment".[2] Two weeks before he was stabbed, Rushdie told German current affairs magazine Stern that "nowadays my life is very normal again", and that social media would have made his life "more dangerous, infinitely more dangerous" had it existed in the 1980s.[16] According to the co-founder of City of Asylum, Henry Reese (who was scheduled to interview Rushdie), the novelist had promised him just before they went onstage together that he would tour the United States to create new opportunities for the asylum and protection of persecuted artists.[17]

Salman Rushdie (left) and Henry Reese (right) were injured

On August 12, 2022 at around 10:47 a.m. EDT,[2] an attacker rushed the stage of Chautauqua Institution, where Rushdie was about to give a talk about the United States as a safe haven for exiled writers. The assailant stabbed him ten times, straining to continue the attack even as several people held him back.[2] One of these people was the co-founder of City of Asylum, Henry Reese, onstage at the time, about to begin interviewing Rushdie.[18] During the assault, Reese sustained a shallow knife wound and deep bruising in the vicinity of his right eye.[19][20] A doctor who was present for the lecture immediately tended to Rushdie.[21]

A New York state trooper and a sheriff's deputy who were present at the event arrested the assailant directly.[22][23][24]

Rushdie suffered four wounds to the stomach area of his abdomen, three wounds to the right side of the front part of his neck, one wound to his right eye, one wound to his chest and one wound to his right thigh.[25] He was flown by helicopter to UPMC Hamot, a tertiary-level hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania.[26]

The novelist's literary agent, Andrew Wylie, said on the evening of August 12 that Rushdie had undergone surgery, was on a ventilator, and was unable to speak. Wylie said that Rushdie faced the prospect of losing one of his eyes, in addition to the possibility of liver damage and multiple severed nerves in one arm.[2][4][27] On August 13, Wylie said that Rushdie had been taken off the ventilator and was able to speak and joke.[28][29]

On August 14, Wylie said that Rushdie was on the "road to recovery", adding, "it will be long; the injuries are severe, but his condition is headed in the right direction."[30] Rushdie's son Zafar said, "Though his life-changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact".[31][32][33]

On October 23, Wylie reported that Rushdie had lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand.[34]

By February 6, 2023, Rushdie had recovered enough to appear in an interview with The New Yorker. Speaking about surviving the attack, he stated: "I'm lucky. What I really want to say is that my main overwhelming feeling is gratitude."[35][36]

The investigation into Rushdie's stabbing is being led by the New York State Police, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Chautauqua County's district attorney.[37]

The suspect, Hadi Matar, was charged in state court with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault and remanded without bail.[38] Matar pleaded not guilty.[14][28]

The CEO of PEN America commented, "We cannot immediately think of any comparable incident of a public violent attack on a writer during a literary event here in the United States."[2] The New York Times reported that the incident sent "ripples of 'shock and horror' through the literary world".[82] Nobel laureates Kazuo Ishiguro and Abdulrazak Gurnah were among the first to issue statements defending Rushdie, while his fellow Booker Prize winners Ian McEwan and Arundhati Roy also condemned the stabbing.[83] Shortly afterwards, other Booker Prize winners, such as Graham Swift, Margaret Atwood and Ben Okri, would also publish their responses to Rushdie's stabbing.[84][85][86] The home page of the Booker Prize's website was also updated to reflect the attack on its "most decorated author" and the website also published an article—written by the Booker Prize Foundation's literary director Gaby Wood—urging people to "celebrate his limitless imagination and his impact on the literary landscape".[87][88]

On the day of the attack, Islamic studies expert Kylie Moore-Gilbert wrote: "More than 30 years and a $3 million bounty later, Khomeini's poisonous fatwa has finally caught up with Salman Rushdie. A black day for freedoms of speech, expression, religion & conscience. A tragic day for literature."[89] Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian journalist in exile, condemned the stabbing of Rushdie, calling it an "attack on freedom of speech".[90] Hanif Kureishi declared that The Satanic Verses is the rude contrary of the authoritarian lie.[91] Musician Cat Stevens, who had controversially made comments seemingly endorsing violence against Rushdie in 1989, released a statement on social media condemning the attack and wishing Rushdie a full recovery.[92]

Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, spoke in support of Rushdie as he opened an exhibition the day after the attack.[93]

Two days after Rushdie was stabbed, France's Goncourt Academy issued a statement in which it said it "condemns the barbaric act for which there can be no justification ... [and] offers its unconditional support and solidarity" to Rushdie.[94]

The assault on Rushdie resulted in renewed interest in obtaining copies of The Satanic Verses, with the novel ranked number thirteen on Amazon.com by the afternoon after he was stabbed.[28] Within days, the novel's Spanish translation was a number one bestseller and other books written by Rushdie, including Midnight's Children, were also selling well, whereas on the day he was stabbed, his books were outside the top 100.[95]

Questions were raised after the stabbing of Rushdie about security at the event, although a state trooper and a sheriff's officer were present.[96] Michael Hill, president of the Chautauqua Institution, stated that the Institution had ensured that law enforcement officers were present for the event.[21] He described the assault on Rushdie as "unlike anything in [the institution's] nearly 150-year history".[21] However, one eyewitness claimed that there was no security onstage.[97][98] One attendee noted that while food and drinks were prevented from being brought into the event, there was no screening for weapons.[16]

It emerged that the leadership of the Chautauqua Institution disregarded recommendations for security precautions because they felt it would alienate the audience from the speakers.[99] Following the attack, the Chautauqua Institution announced it would require guests to furnish photo IDs to buy gate passes, which could be purchased anonymously before. Carried bags will also be banned in the amphitheater.[28]

• 2022 in literature