Salman Rushdie Off the Ventilator Day After Attack, Accused Pleads Not Guilty

Writer Salman Rushdie's condition is said to be stable as he was taken off the ventilator last night. Rushdie, 75, suffered serious injuries in a stabbing attack at a literary event in New York on Friday. The improvement in his health was reported a day after his agent Andrew Wylie said that he might lose an eye, while his liver was also damaged in the knife attack.

According to reports, an attacker stormed his way to the stage and stabbed the author in the neck and abdomen at least 10 times just as he was being introduced before his lecture.

The attacker was immediately nabbed by the cops and was taken into custody. He has been identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar and has pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges.

Here is what we know about the attack and Rushdie's condition so far:

Who is the attacker?

Matar's social media activities point out to his "Shia extremism" tendencies and inclination towards the causes of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). Pictures of Iranian commander Qassem Solemani, who was assassinated in 2020, were found on his phone. However, no direct connection has been found between Matar and the IRGC.

Rushdie's friction with Iran dates back to 1988 when his controversial book Satanic Verses was published, over the portrayal of Prophet Muhammad which any Muslims said was insulting to their faith. He faced a volley of death threats.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the then-Iranian leader, issued a fatwa for his assassination. A bounty of USD 3 million was put on Rushdie's head. He was forced to go into hiding for 10 years. The fatwa was never revoked and remains active till date. In fact, in 2012, a quasi-official Iranian religious foundation added a further $500,000 to the reward, despite the fact that the Iranian government distanced itself from the issue.

The police are yet to trace Matar's possible criminal records. He is said to be a resident of Fairview, New Jersey. Police and the FBI are still working to ascertain the motive of the attack. A BBC report said that was born in the US, while his parents had emigrated from Lebanon.

The initial probe suggests that he was operating alone, but the cops are investigating to see if he has connections to any extremist outfits.

Rushdie's condition

Off the ventilator by Saturday, Rushdie was able to talk, according to his agent Wylie. Author Aatish Taseer took to Twitter to give update on Rushdie's health and said, "off the ventilator and talking (and joking)." Bleeding profusely after being stabbed, Rushdie was immeditaley air-lifted to a hospital in northwestern Pennsylvania where he underwent surgery for several hours on Friday.

The attack left several nerves on Rushdie's arms damaged, which is likely to affect the functioning of his arm.

Satanic Verses and other controversies

A critical thinker, Rushdie often ran into controversies with his books. Books like Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses have triggered violent reactions from various quarters. While he faced death threats for Satanic Verses, the Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi was stabbed to death in 1991 at Tsukuba University, northeast of Tokyo. He had been a teacher of comparative Islamic culture for five years at the university. While the murder is unsolved and no one group or individual ever took responsibility of the crime, the novel's Japanese publisher had received death threats reportedly from Islamist militants.

The book was banned in India in 1988. By the end of the year it was banned in South Africa, Sudan, Kenya and Bangladesh. The book's Italian translator and Norwegian publisher were also attacked, but luckily survived. In Turkey, arsonists set fire to a hotel killing 37 people because the Turkish translator of the book was staying there. In 1998, Iran said it won't stop any attempts to kill Rushdie.

In 2010, Inspire magazine published a hit list by Al Qaeda, and Rushdie's name featured on it.