According to his mother, the attacker arrested for the knife attack on author Salman Rushdie during a visit to Lebanon has apparently become radicalized. Silvana Fardos, who lives in Fairview, New Jersey, told the Daily Mail website on Monday that her son had “changed a lot” from his trip to her native country.
“I expected him to come back motivated to finish school, get his degree and get a job,” the mother said, referring to the 2018 trip to Lebanon. Instead, he locked himself in the basement. Her son isolated himself and barely spoke to the rest of the family for months. “He sleeps during the day and gets up and eats at night,” Fardos described her 24-year-old son Hadi M.
Writer seriously injured in murder
He repeatedly stabbed Rushdie at a literary event in upstate New York on Friday. The British Indian writer was seriously injured and had to undergo urgent surgery, but is now on the mend. In an initial trial on charges of attempted murder, the 24-year-old declared his innocence. He did not comment on his motives.
The killer’s mother, who works as a teaching assistant and translator, explained in the interview that she was Muslim by birth, but not religious or political. Before the attack, she had never heard of Rushdie and his book The Satanic Verses, which was condemned by many Muslims.
Mother about son: ‘Everyone loved him’
Fardos told the Daily Mail that her son blamed her for encouraging him to get an education rather than emphasizing his religion. He was “angry that I did not introduce him to Islam at a young age”. Furthermore, her son was “very calm” and “introverted”, “everyone loved him”.
According to the Daily Mail, 24-year-old Hadi M. was born in the United States and raised in California. His parents divorced in 2004, after which his father returned to Lebanon.
Source: Krone
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.
