Aimee Walker
Sir Salman Rushdie ‘brought the stabbing attack on himself,’ says the Iran Foreign Ministry.
According to reports, spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the British-American novelist and ‘his supporters are to blame for what happened to him’ on August 12 in New York.
He reportedly commented: “Freedom of speech does not justify Salman Rushdie’s insults upon religion and offence of its sanctities.”
Find out more about the Salman Rushdie attack in the clip below…
Kanaani apparently went on to add that Iran has no more information on the 75-year-old’s suspected attacker, Hadi Matar, except for what has been reported in the media.
Rushdie was at an upstate event when he was attacked. It’s believed he suffered liver damage and severed nerves in both his arm and an eye. Reportedly, he may lose the injured eye.
The 24-year-old suspect, from Fairview, New Jersey, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.
Rushdie’s son, Zafar Rushdie, has reportedly said that the author has been able to ‘say a few words’ and his ‘usual feisty and defiant sense of humour’ remains.
The figure’s ex-wife, writer and TV presenter Padma Lakshmi, also tweeted: “Relieved @SalmanRushdie is pulling through after Friday’s nightmare. Worried and wordless, can finally exhale. Now hoping for swift healing.”
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Over the years, Rushdie has faced death threats over his 1988 book, ‘The Satanic Verse,’ which is considered ‘blasphemous’ by some Muslims.
The award-winning novel was partially influenced by the life of Prophet Mohammed.
A year after it was published, Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, demanding his death.
Following this, the author spent years in hiding and required 24/7 police protection. In 1998, the Iranian government then said that it would no longer back the fatwa. However, this did not stop the anti-Rushdie sentiment.
In 2012, an Iranian religious foundation raised a bounty on Rushdie’s life from $2.8million to $3.3million.
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