Salman Rushdie’s condition was not immediately known. (File)
New Delhi:
Salman Rushdie, the British author, was attacked on stage today during an event in New York. The author’s controversial writings made him the target of a fatwa that forced him into hiding.
Video footage from the event showed people rushing to aid Salman Rushdie after he was stabbed at the event in Chautauqua County.
Several authors and artists have condemned the event and hope that Salman Rushdie will recover quickly.
Author William Dalrymple called it a terrible day for literature. “A bad day for literature, for free speech and for authors everywhere. Poor poor Salman: I pray he doesn’t get hurt and recovers quickly,” he said.
A terrible day for literature, for free speech and for authors everywhere. Poor poor Salman: I pray he is not injured and recovers quickly https://t.co/JX5LGTMk5L
– William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) August 12, 2022
Stephen King, author of several horror and thriller novels, wrote, “I hope Salman Rushdie is okay.”
“Go Back To Where You Came From” author Wajahat Ali tweeted, “Useless men want to police the world with violence. Salman Rushdie was stabbed today. FBI attacked yesterday. I fear these examples of violence will only continue to escalate with polarization, misinformation and extremism becoming mainstream.”
“If he is attacked, anyone who criticizes Islam could be attacked. I am worried,” author Taslima Nasreen, who has lived in exile for nearly three decades on Twitter, wrote on Twitter.
I just learned that Salman Rushdie was attacked in New York. I was really shocked. I never thought it would happen. He has lived in the West, and he has been under protection since 1989. If he is attacked, anyone who criticizes Islam can be attacked. IM worry.
– taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) August 12, 2022
Lyricist Javed Akhtar condemned the attack on Salman Rushdie and called on the police to take stern action against the attacker. “I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie by some fanatics. I hope that the NY police and courts will take the strongest possible action against the attacker,” he wrote on Twitter.
I condemn the barbaric attack on Salman Rushdie by some fanatics. I hope that the NY police and the courts will take the strongest possible action against the attacker.
– Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) August 12, 2022
Salman Rushdie first became famous with the novel “Midnight Children”, which won the Booker Prize in 1981. But his name became known worldwide after “Rhymes of Satan”. The book has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it blasphemous.
Now living in New York, he is an advocate for freedom of expression, especially launching a strong defense for the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo after its staff were harassed by Islamists. spear shot down in Paris in 2015.
Threats and boycotts continued against the literary events Rushdie attended, and his knighthood in 2007 sparked protests in Iran and Pakistan, where a prime minister The government says the honor justifies the suicide bombings.
