The author of ‘The Satanic Verses’ threatens to lose an eye after being stabbed on Friday
After hours on the operating table, Salman Rushdie had his ventilator removed and was able to speak after the stabbing. However, he has serious injuries to his liver and one eye and tears to the nerves in his arm as a result of the knife attack he suffered Friday morning when he was about to give a literary conference. The British writer and essayist suffered deep cuts to his neck and abdomen and, according to his agent, Andrew Wylie, is likely to lose an eye as a result of the brutal attack in Chautauqua, a pre-eminently rural county in northwestern New York. near the Canadian border.
The author of ‘The Satanic Verses’, 75 years old and living in the United States, was stabbed just before he started his speech at the Chautauqua literary festival. He was about to speak precisely about the importance of freedom in artistic creation. As the world reacted with astonishment to the news, reports emerged that the colloquium organizers were rejecting recommendations to take basic and customary security measures at these types of public events — alluding to bag searches and metal detectors — for fear. that would change the culture of the event.
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The police assigned Rushdie to an officer for his protection. It was he who carried out the arrest of Hadi Matar, the 24-year-old man with an Islamic fundamentalist profile who committed the crime. Still, many attendees missed tighter controls at the conference, given the sad history of threats against the writer and the special moment of violent action in the United States.
State police, the FBI and the Chautauqua County District Attorney’s Office, who are jointly involved in the investigation, have not yet confirmed what type of weapon the attacker used. Matar addressed his victim on the podium in the auditorium when he was introduced, just before it was his turn to speak. He knocked Rushdie down and stabbed him repeatedly—some 10 or 15 times, according to some witnesses—before being pinned down.
The moderator of the event, Henry Reese, 73, co-founder of the organization that offers housing to writers persecuted by violent groups and dictatorial states, also suffered a facial injury. He was treated at a hospital and later released.
Reese and Rushdie had organized the conference to reflect on the role of the United States as a refuge for writers and other artists in exile. The literary festival this year attracted some 2,500 people, including prominent cultural figures such as David Graves, of ‘The New York Times’, who attended the conference and watched the attacker climb onto the stage and take his action before being detained by members of the public and the organization.
Urgent transfer. The writer was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in New York.
Urgent transfer. The writer was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital in New York. / AFP
The White House condemned the “terrible” attack on the writer, noting that all members of the Joe Biden administration are “praying for his speedy recovery.” Kathy Hochul, governor of New York State, where the events took place, emphasized the importance of people feeling free to “speak and write without censorship.”
From this perspective, he highlighted the low-threshold criteria of the festival in Chautauqua, a sleepy rural community where famous figures such as Rushdie often speak at summer conferences. The amphitheater of the event is a large open-air space where cultural activities have taken place since the late 19th century. Only a pass is required to enter.
The ‘anger’ against reason in the Rushdie affair
The ‘anger’ against reason in the Rushdie affair
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response to horror
The Democratic governor highlighted the author’s figure as one who has spoken openly and fearlessly to power for decades, despite the threats that have haunted him throughout his adult life. The world of international culture reacted with shock and praised the writer’s courage. Suzanne Nossel, executive director of PEN America, a literary organization dedicated to freedom of expression, of which Rushdie chaired for a time, expressed the shock of the literary collective and vowed that “its vital voice cannot be silenced.”
Norwegian publisher William Nygaard, who was shot and seriously injured in 1993 after publishing ‘The Satanic Verses’ in his country, said Rushdie “paid a high price to write freely”. “He has done a lot for contemporary literature and had found a good life in America,” he added.
British writer Ian McEwan described his “dear friend Salman” as a “defender and inspiration for persecuted writers and journalists around the world, a man of immense talent, ardent courage and a generous spirit that is undeterred.”
The long list of prominent writers who have responded to the attack includes Indian Amitav Ghosh; Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro; Indian author and environmentalist Arundhati Roy; and Taslima Nasreen, who was forced to leave Bangladesh after a court decision condemning her novel ‘Shame’ for hurting Muslim religious sentiment.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
