The 27-year-old New Jersey man who was convicted in February of stabbing and partially blinding famed novelist Salman Rushdie was hit with the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison on Friday.
Hadi Matar was convicted of second-degree attempted murder for the August 2022 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-famed-author-salman-rushdie-target-of-iran-death-sentence-stabbed-on-stage-in-new-york?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=BREAKING%3A+Famed+Author+Salman+Rushdie%2C+Target+Of+Iran+Death+Sentence%2C+Stabbed+On+Stage+In+New+York" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stabbing attack</a> that also injured the event&#8217;s moderator, Henry Reese, the co-founder of Pittsburgh&#8217;s City of Asylum, which helps exiled writers, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/assailant-who-stabbed-author-salman-rushdie-sentenced-25-years-2025-05-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Rushdie — who sparked the ire of the Iranian regime with his 1988 novel, &#8220;The Satanic Verses&#8221; — was stabbed by Matar between 10 and 15 times in the head, neck, torso, and left hand at a New York arts institute. After the book was published, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, calling for Rushdie&#8217;s assassination.
Video captured Matar rushing the stage where Rushdie spoke during a writers&#8217; event focused on protecting exiled writers. During the trial, a trauma surgeon testified that without immediate medical intervention, Rushdie would have died, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/salman-rushdie-stabbing-sentencing-attempted-murder-hadi-matar/story?id=121844226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The jury took just two hours to reach a verdict. Matar was also sentenced to seven years for second-degree assault in the stabbing of Reese, but that sentence will run concurrently with the longer one.
Before the trial began in Chautauqua County Court, Matar rejected a plea deal. Shortly after the jury reached its verdict, his defense attorney, Nathaniel Barone, said Matar plans to appeal the conviction. Matar has also been charged by the federal government with an act of terrorism. He will face those charges at a separate trial in Buffalo, according to Reuters.
Rushdie was born into a non-practicing Muslim family in British India, and now identifies as an atheist. “The Satanic Verses,&#8221; which was labeled as blasphemous by hardline Islamists, refers to verses of the Quran that Rushdie claimed had been removed. Rushdie said that his book is not blasphemous against Islam, adding, “I doubt very much Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read this book or anything more than selected extracts taken out of context.”
After the sentencing hearing, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said that the stabbing attack still haunts the 77-year-old author.
&#8220;He&#8217;s traumatized. He has nightmares about what he experienced,&#8221; Schmidt said. &#8220;Obviously this is a major setback for an individual that was starting to emerge in his very later years of life into society after going into hiding after the fatwa.&#8221;

Hadi Matar

Sentence Is In For American Who Stabbed Novelist Salman Rushdie

attack

Crime

Iran

New Jersey

New York

Politics

Prison

Salman Rushdie

Stabbing

Famed author Salman Rushdie lost the use of one hand and an eye after an attack in August by a man who stormed the stage and stabbed him in the neck and torso several times — his agent confirmed last week.
Rushdie, the target of a 1989 death warrant issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini over his groundbreaking book “The Satanic Verses,&#8221; was wounded while on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in New York on August 12, just before he planned on speaking about artistic freedom.
Andrew Wylie, literary agent for Rushdie, told Spain’s <a href="https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-10-22/andrew-wylie-the-jackal-of-books-amazon-is-like-isis-it-takes-no-prisoners.html">El País</a> that the 75-year-old author would survive the brutal attack after his team kept the details of his injuries private until now.
“[His wounds] were profound, but he’s [also] lost the sight of one eye,” Wylie said. “He had three serious wounds in his neck. One hand is incapacitated because the nerves in his arm were cut. And he has about 15 more wounds in his chest and torso. So, it was a brutal attack.”
Wylie did not confirm whether his client was still hospitalized.
“I can’t give any information about his whereabouts,” Wylie said. “He’s going to live…That’s the more important thing.”
Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” title referred to verses of the Quran that Rushdie claimed had been removed; he also made references to Islam that hard-liners deemed offensive. Such offenses compelled the Iranian regime to offer more than $3 million to anyone who killed Rushdie.
“I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who are aware of its content are sentenced to death,” Khomeini stated in his fatwa targeting Rushdie.
Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi urged Hezbollah groups to “take the necessary action” against Rushdie, a native of India.
Rushdie denied the accusation that the book is blasphemous against Islam.
“I doubt very much Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read this book or anything more than selected extracts taken out of context,” Rushdie said.
The mandate imposed by Iranian officials sent the author into hiding, where he spent the majority of nearly ten years living underground.
Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey — accused of stabbing Rushdie — pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges in the days following the attack.
Authorities have since incarcerated Matar after a Chautauqua County District Court grand jury charged him with one count of second-degree attempted murder and one count of second-degree assault, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/23/salman-rushdie-has-lost-sight-in-one-eye-and-use-of-one-hand-says-agent">The Guardian</a>.
Wylie said he and Rushdie had previously discussed the possibility of an attack after Iran’s Ayatollah imposed Islamic law calling for his death.
“The principal danger that he faced so many years after the fatwa was imposed is from a random person coming out of nowhere and attacking [him],” he said. “So, you can’t protect against that because it’s totally unexpected and illogical.&#8221;
“It was like John Lennon’s murder,” he added.
Hank Berrien contributed to this report.

AUSTRIA-LITERATURE

Author Salman Rushdie Loses Use Of Eye And Hand After Stabbing Attack

Islam

satanic

Talk show host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-maher">Bill Maher</a> took time out on his show to speak about Salman Rushdie after the famed author was attacked on Friday just before he was about to take the stage in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york">New York</a> and give a speech.
During his show on Friday, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bill-maher">host</a> of HBOs &#8220;Real Time with Bill Maher&#8221; told his audience that he wanted to take a moment to talk about his &#8220;dear friend,&#8221; Rushdie, who &#8220;got stabbed&#8221; by someone before he was to speak to a group at the at the Chautauqua Institution. The clip can be seen <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcWl7_G754c">here</a>.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t know the motivation yet,&#8221; Maher told the panel &#8220;But Sal did have some enemies in the past. As I recall.  &#8230;Sal was in Chautauqua, he was giving a lecture, how about this for irony, about how the U.S. is a safe haven for exiled writers and other artists under threat of persecution.&#8221;
&#8220;And making that speech itself is unthinkable in most Muslim countries,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Salman Rushdie living in most Muslim countries without getting stabbed every day is unthinkable. So, don&#8217;t come at me with islamophobic. Phobic means fear.&#8221;
WATCH:
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&#8220;Well, Sal had a good reason to be fearful,&#8221; the HBO host continued. &#8220;And when you say phobic, it&#8217;s just a way to shut off debate. You know they use transphobic, islamophobic, and we should have a debate about this. Sorry, but, you know, these things don&#8217;t go away. Islam is still a much more fundamentalist religion than any of the other religions in the world and that means they take what&#8217;s in the holy book seriously.&#8221;
The podcast host said that by doing so, that has &#8220;been dangerous&#8221; for a long time and &#8220;it&#8217;s still dangerous.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lgbt-network-head-says-bill-maher-should-be-canceled-following-his-latest-remarks-questioning-increase-in-children-identifying-as-transgender">Maher</a> noted that it was back in 1989 that Rushdie was &#8220;first threatened&#8221; by Iran&#8217;s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini over the author&#8217;s groundbreaking book &#8220;The Satanic Verses,&#8221; as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-famed-author-salman-rushdie-target-of-iran-death-sentence-stabbed-on-stage-in-new-york">The Daily Wire</a> reported.
One of the guests on the show, Piers Morgan, then shared a Rushdie quote that read, &#8220;Defense of free speech begins at the point when people say something you can&#8217;t stand. You often have to defend people you find outrageous, unpleasant and disgusting.&#8221;
The host of &#8220;Piers Morgan Uncensored&#8221; noted that Rushdie&#8217;s comments are what people &#8220;have forgotten&#8221; about free speech. &#8220;It&#8217;s about your ability to listen to people whose opinions you might staunchly disagree with, you might hate their opinions &#8230; but you should be able to tolerate their right to have a different opinion.&#8221;
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-state-media-after-rushdie-stabbing-it-is-now-the-turn-of-trump-and-pompeo">Iranian State Media After Rushdie Stabbing: &#8216;It Is Now The Turn Of Trump And Pompeo&#8217;</a>

Bill Maher

’Unthinkable’: Bill Maher Blasts Attack On ‘Dear Friend’ Salman Rushdie

Celebrities

Entertainment

The U.S. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-department">State Department</a> has responded to the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie following criticisms from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/iran">Iran</a> on Friday.
The Sunday statement by Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the action, referring to the incident as a &#8220;heinous attack.&#8221;
&#8220;We join those across the country and around the world who are keeping Salman Rushdie in our thoughts in the aftermath of this heinous attack,&#8221; Blinken <a href="https://www.state.gov/the-attack-against-salman-rushdie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
&#8220;More than a literary giant, Rushdie has consistently stood up for the universal rights of freedom of expression​, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of the press. While law enforcement officials continue to investigate the attack, I am reminded of the pernicious forces that seek to undermine these rights, including through hate speech and incitement to violence,&#8221; he added.
Blinken also blasted Iran&#8217;s state institutions for multiple generations of inciting violence against the bestselling author.
&#8220;Specifically, Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media recently gloated about the attempt on his life. This is despicable,&#8221; Blinken said.
The secretary of state also highlighted Rushdie&#8217;s resolve as a key part of opposing those who stand against universal human rights.
&#8220;The strength of Rushdie — and that of all of those around the world who have endured such threats — steels our resolve and underscores the imperative of standing united as an international community against those who would challenge these universal rights,&#8221; Blinken concluded.
The remarks came one day after President Joe Biden released his own statement on Saturday condemning Rushdie&#8217;s stabbing.
“Jill and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the vicious attack on Salman Rushdie yesterday in New York,” Biden <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/13/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-the-attack-on-salman-rushdie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
“We, together with all Americans and people around the world, are praying for his health and recovery,&#8221; he added.
Rushdie was previously the target of a 1989 death warrant issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini over his book “The Satanic Verses.” As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-famed-author-salman-rushdie-target-of-iran-death-sentence-stabbed-on-stage-in-new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, he was stabbed on Friday as he was about to give a speech in New York.
A man stormed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbed Rushdie multiple times, according to The Associated Press, which also noted that the Iranian regime has offered more than $3 million to anyone who killed Rushdie.
The stabbing occurred just days after a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was charged by federal law enforcement officials for allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/member-of-iranian-military-charged-with-attempting-to-assassinate-former-trump-official-doj">attempting to assassinate</a> former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Shahram Poursafi, 45, of Tehran, Iran, allegedly attempted to arrange Bolton’s assassination in response to the Trump administration&#8217;s killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qasem Soleimani.
Poursafi attempted to pay individuals $300,000 to carry out the assassination in or around the nation’s capital, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/member-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-irgc-charged-plot-murder-former-national">said</a> in a statement.
“The Justice Department has the solemn duty to defend our citizens from hostile governments who seek to hurt or kill them,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “This is not the first time we have uncovered Iranian plots to exact revenge against individuals on U.S. soil and we will work tirelessly to expose and disrupt every one of these efforts.”
“Iran has a history of plotting to assassinate individuals in the U.S. it deems a threat, but the U.S. Government has a longer history of holding accountable those who threaten the safety of our citizens,” said Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “Let there be no doubt: The FBI, the U.S. government, and our partners remain vigilant in the fight against such threats here in the U.S. and overseas.”
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this report.

State Department Responds To Stabbing Attack On Salman Rushdie

Biden Admin

State Department

Terrorism

In the wake of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-famed-author-salman-rushdie-target-of-iran-death-sentence-stabbed-on-stage-in-new-york">stabbing</a> of famed author Salman Rushdie, an Iran newspaper whose editor is chosen by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei published an editorial threatening to assassinate former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> and former Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mike-pompeo">Mike Pompeo</a>.
The despotic theocratic regime in Iran, the <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2018/">largest</a> state sponsor of terrorism on the planet, had already praised Hadi Matar, who allegedly stabbed Rushdie, the author who had a death warrant issued against him by the Iranian regime decades ago.
The editorial in the Kayhan newspaper stated, “ &#8230; it is now the turn of Trump and Pompeo &#8230; God has taken his revenge on Rushdie. The attack on him shows it is not a difficult job to take similar revenge on Trump and Pompeo and from now on they will feel more in danger for their lives,” according to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/08/14/irans-hardliners-threaten-kill-donald-trump-salman-rushdie-attack/">The Telegraph</a>.
Trump had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shapiro-trump-taking-out-soleimani-just-made-the-world-a-better-safer-place">ordered</a> the killing of Iran terror master Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps&#8217; (IRGC) Quds Force, in January 2020.
According to The Telegraph, in January 2022, on the second anniversary of the strike that killed Soleimani, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi snapped, “If the conditions for a fair trial of Mr. Trump and Mr. Pompeo and other criminals become available, they will be charged for committing this heinous crime and will face the consequence of their criminal actions. However, let there be no doubt that I say here to all American statesmen that the hand of revenge will eventually come out of the sleeve of our nation.”
<a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/26/antony-blinken-ongoing-threat-to-us-officials-from-irans-revolutionary-guard/">The New York Post</a> reported that in April, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “Is it true the IRGC is actively trying to murder former senior officials of the United States?”
“I’m not sure what I can say in an open setting,” Blinken replied. “Let me say generically, there is an ongoing threat against American officials both present and past.”
When Cruz asked if the State Department had asked the IRGC to stop their attacks and threats against U.S. officials, Blinken answered, “Of course, within the context of any engagements that we have directly or indirectly with Iranians, one of the strong messages we sent to them is they need to stop targeting our people, period.”
“Did they tell you no?” Cruz pressed.
“Again, I’m not going to characterize what they said, they know what they would need to do to address this problem,” Blinken replied. “And that’s pretty straightforward.”

President Trump Holds News Conference

Iranian State Media After Rushdie Stabbing: ‘It Is Now The Turn Of Trump And Pompeo’

Donald Trump

Mike Pompeo

Famed author Salman Rushdie, who was the target of a 1989 death warrant issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini over his groundbreaking book “The Satanic Verses,” was stabbed on Friday as he was about to give a speech in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York</a>.
A man stormed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and stabbed Rushdie, according to The Associated Press, which also noted that the Iranian regime has offered over $3 million to anyone who kills Rushdie. His condition is not known.
“In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for Rushdie from $2.8 million to $3.3 million,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-12/author-salman-rushdie-attacked-on-lecture-stage-in-new-york">Bloomberg</a> noted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Author Salman Rushdie has been attacked as he was about to give a lecture in western New York. An <a href="https://twitter.com/AP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AP</a> reporter witnessed a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced. <a href="https://t.co/bVTbfkLjyL">https://t.co/bVTbfkLjyL</a>
&mdash; The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1558109869152018433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Salman Rushdie was just stabbed &#8211; there’s been a fatwa on him from the Ayatollah of Iran since 1989. Comes right after the arrest of someone Iran paid $300k to kill John Bolton and the threats to Masih Alinejad in Brooklyn. I’m going to say it’s not a coincidence.
&mdash; Lahav Harkov 🎗️ (@LahavHarkov) <a href="https://twitter.com/LahavHarkov/status/1558109504872615937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” title referred to verses of the <a href="https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Qur%27an">Quran</a> that Rushdie claimed had been removed; he also made references to Islam that hard-liners deemed offensive. After the fatwa was issued against him he spent almost 10 years living mostly underground.
&#8220;I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the Prophet and the Koran, and all those involved in its publication who are aware of its content are sentenced to death,&#8221; Khomeini <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/14/newsid_2541000/2541149.stm">stated in his fatwa</a> targeting Rushdie.
Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi urged Hezbollah groups to &#8220;take the necessary action&#8221; against Rushdie, a native of India.
&#8220;I am very sad it should have happened. It is not true this book is a blasphemy against Islam,&#8221; Rushdie responded. &#8220;I doubt very much Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read this book or anything more than selected extracts taken out of context.&#8221;
In February 1989, five people were <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/13/world/muslims-storm-us-mission-in-pakistan.html">killed</a> and another 80 were injured in Islamabad, Pakistan, when thousands of Muslims angry about Rushdie’s book marched toward an American cultural center. Two demonstrators climbed to the roof and yanked down American flag.
In March 1989, after the fatwa was issued against him, the United Kingdom cut off diplomatic relations with Iran over the issue. In 1998, the Iranian government said it would &#8220;neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie” in order to renew relations with Great Britain, but in 2005, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reaffirmed the fatwa against Rushdie. At the time, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4260599.stm">stated</a> that the death sentence was still valid.
According to the BBC’s Frances Harrison, Iranian religious authorities said the fatwa could only be lifted by Ayatollah Khomeini, who died in 1989.

Salman Rushdie Signs Copies Of  “Quichotte”

BREAKING: Famed Author Salman Rushdie, Target Of Iran Death Sentence, Stabbed On Stage In New York