Pro-religious Iranian newspapers on Saturday praised the attackers who had seriously injured writer Salman Rushdie the day before.
The 75-year-old writer was subject to Iran’s death fatwa in 1989 for being deemed blasphemy in his novel Satanic Verse and was seriously injured in Friday’s attack.
How will Iran hardliners react?
There was no official response from Iran to the stabbing, but hardliners Keihan The newspaper praised the assailant, a 24-year-old from Fairview, New Jersey.The man charged with attempted murder on Saturday has not been detained, according to prosecutors in Chautauqua County, New York.
The newspaper, whose editor-in-chief was appointed by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, wrote that the suspect deserved “1000 Bravos”.
Khamenei himself refused to revoke the fatwa, or edict, against Rushdie, and was quoted as saying that the “arrows” fired by his predecessor who issued it “will one day hit the mark.”
The Asr Iran news site on Saturday published the quote, Khorasan Each day had the headline “Satan Going To Hell.”
Hezbollah denies knowledge
On Saturday, an official with the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said the group had no additional information about Rushdie’s stabbing.
“I know nothing about this, so I won’t comment,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
what happened to the writer?
Rushdie will speak on how the United States is providing asylum to artists in exile when a stabbing occurs at the Chautauqua Institute, about 55 miles (88 km) southwest of Buffalo, New York. was.
As Rushdie was about to give a speech, a man ran onto the stage. According to witnesses, he attacked the author and stabbed him multiple times.
The audience ran onto the stage and knocked the suspect to the ground before police officers arrested him. Audience doctors administered medical treatment until paramedics arrived.
Rushdie still had a pulse and didn’t need cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after the attack, but was put on a ventilator later.
There is also the danger of losing an eye. Rushdie also severed a nerve in his arm during the attack and damaged his liver.
Who is Salman Rushdie?
Rushdie went into hiding for years after Iran’s late Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, in 1989 demanding Rushdie’s death.
Some Muslims thought his book The Satanic Verses disrespected Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
Given the threat to Rushdie and the fact that a bounty has been placed on his head, it raises questions about the level of security of the event.
“There is no other reason why this young man did what he did. He is doing something for his culture and faith,” said Akbar Ahmed, dean of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, DC I thought,” he said. “It’s easy to understand where this is coming from,” Ahmed said.
In a recent, as yet unpublished, interview with a German news magazine sternRushdie said his life is now “relatively normal” as he has lived it more openly in recent years.
Rushdie has received worldwide acclaim for his work, including winning the Booker Prize for his book in 1981. children in the middle of the nightAs one of Britain’s most respected writers, he was knighted in 2007 for his contributions to literature.
Born in 1947 to a Muslim family in India, Rushdie is a self-professed atheist. He obtained US citizenship in 2016 and lives in New York City.
rc/aw (Reuters, AFP, AP)
