Rushdie is an Indian-born British-American. His most notable work is The Satanic Verses which was published in 1988. A year after its publication, he was threatened with death by the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He issued what is known as a fatwa, calling for his assassination and placed a $3 million bounty on Rushdie’s head. For years he lived in hiding and took strict security measures which slowly became more relaxed. In 2007 Rushdie was knighted, a move that was highly criticised by the Iranian and Pakistani governments. Only two weeks prior to the attack, Rushdie told an interviewer that he felt his life was “very normal again” and that fears of an attack were a thing of the past. If only he knew what was to come.
The man responsible was 24-year-old Hadi Matar, who was arrested at the scene and charged the following day with second-degree assault and attempted second-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty. Matar was born in California to parents who emigrated from Lebanon. His father returned to Lebanon several years ago. Matar’s mother told the MailOnline that a trip in 2018 to visit his father left Matar changed and isolated. US law enforcement said that Matar’s social media accounts indicated support for the IRGC and Shia extremism, as well as support for the Iranian government. Matar told the New York Post in an interview after the attack that he was surprised that Rushdie had survived. He had only read “a couple pages” of The Satanic Verses but did not like him due to his criticism of Islam. He refused to answer if he attacked Rushdie due to the fatwa against him, however he did say that he respected Khomeini who issued it.
Iran denied all involvement in the attack however Iranian media celebrated it. Iran’s foreign ministry said the author “and his supporters are to blame for what happened to him”. A spokesperson for U.S President, Joe Biden, issued a statement condemning the attack: “Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media recently gloated about the attempt on his life.”, calling their behaviour “despicable".
Although Rushdie is going to live, he lost sight in one eye and one of his hands is incapacitated due to the nerves being cut. Matar is being remanded in prison without bail whilst he awaits trial.