Author Salma Rushdie is a British-American author of Indian descent. He is the author of almost a dozen different publications.
Since the late 1980s, his novel The Satanic Verses has been illegal in Iran due to widespread condemnation among Muslims for its blasphemous content.
Rushdie, whose work has inspired death threats, was attacked and stabbed on Friday as he prepared to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.
The suspect in the attack was reportedly detained by a state police officer who had been deployed to the event by New York police.
At a press conference on Friday afternoon, New York State Police Major Eugene Staniszewsk named the suspect as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old Fairview, New Jersey resident.
Officials are still working with the District Attorney’s office to analyze evidence and monitor Rushdie’s status, but they do not “have any indication of a motivation at this moment,” according to Staniszewski.
Why Was Salman Rushdie Attacked?
According to the State Police, he stated that it was unknown why Rushdie was attacked.
According to a law enforcement official with firsthand knowledge of the investigation, Matar is sympathetic to causes related to Shia radicalism and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps based on a preliminary law enforcement analysis of his social media accounts.
Although there are no confirmed connections to the IRGC, the official claims that the immediate impression is that he is sympathetic to the Iranian government organization
