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| Photo Credit: AP. |
The author of controversial poem “The Satanic Verses” Salman Rushdie was Friday attacked at a lecture in New York.
Rushdie who was on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York was apparently stabbed in the neck by an assailant who jumped onto the stage.
How did the attacker confront Rushdie?
The attacker
confronted Rushdie on stage and punched or stabbed him 10 to 15 times as he was
being introduced, according to an Associated Press reporter who witnessed the incident.
The man was arrested as the 75-year-old author was pushed or fell to the floor.
The
moderator at the event was also attacked and suffered a minor head injury,
police said, adding Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and later flown to a
hospital for treatment.
Rabbi
Charles Savenor who attended the event that hosted nearly 2,500 people said the
assailant ran onto the platform “and started pounding on Mr. Rushdie. At first
you’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ And then it became abundantly clear in a few
seconds that he was being beaten,” adding that the attack lasted about 20
seconds, The Associated Press reported.
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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Rushdie is a
former president of PEN America, which said in a statement it was “reeling from
shock and horror” at the attack, according to The Associated Press.
“We can
think of no comparable incident of a public violent attack on a literary writer
on American soil,” CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement.
Rushdie “has
been targeted for his words for decades but has never flinched nor faltered,”
she added.
Who wrote "The Satanic Verses"?
Several
Muslims view Rushdie’s 1988 book “The Satanic Verses” as blasphemous. Violent
protests have been held around the world against the book.
Who issued fatwa against Salman Rushdie?
The novel was banned in Iran, where the late Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a 1985 fatwa, or edict, which called for Rushdie’s death.
A bounty of
over $3 million has also been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie, according
to The Associated Press.
Rushdie was
placed on a British government protected program which included a round the
clock armed guard.