Editing Salman Rushdie (section)

==''The Satanic Verses'' and the ''fatwa''{{anchor|Satanic Verses and the fatwa}}==
{{Further|Satanic Verses controversy{{!}}''Satanic Verses'' controversy}}

The publication of ''[[The Satanic Verses]]'' by [[Viking Press|Viking Penguin Publishing]] in September 1988 caused immediate controversy in the [[Islamic world]] because of what was seen by some to be an irreverent [[depictions of Muhammad]]. The title refers to a disputed [[hadith|Muslim tradition]] that is referenced in the book. According to this tradition, Muhammad ([[Mahound]] in the book) added verses (''[[Ayah]]'') to the [[Quran]] accepting three Arabian pagan goddesses who were worshiped in [[Mecca]] as divine beings. According to the legend, Muhammad later revoked the verses, saying [[the devil]] tempted him to utter these lines to appease the Meccans (hence the "Satanic" verses). However, the narrator reveals to the reader that these disputed verses were actually from the mouth of the [[Archangel Gabriel]]. The [[banned books|book was banned]] in many countries with large Muslim communities, including India, Iran, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Singapore, Venezuela, and Pakistan. In total, 20 countries banned the book.<ref name="foroutan-nbc-2022"/>

In response to the protests, on 22 January 1989, Rushdie published a column in ''[[The Observer]]'' that called Muhammad "one of the great geniuses of world history," but noted that Islamic doctrine holds Muhammad to be human, and in no way perfect. He held that the novel is not "an anti-religious novel. It is, however, an attempt to write about migration, its stresses and transformations."<ref name=Observer>{{cite news|last1=Rushdie|first1=Salman|title=Choice between light and dark|work=[[The Observer]]|date=22 January 1989}}</ref>

On 14 February 1989—[[Valentine's Day]], and also the day of his close friend [[Bruce Chatwin]]'s funeral—a ''[[fatwa]]'' ordering Rushdie's execution was proclaimed on Radio Tehran by [[Ayatollah]] [[Khomeini]], the [[Supreme leader of Iran]] at the time, calling the book "[[blasphemous]] against Islam". Chapter IV of the book depicts the character of an [[Imamah (Shi'a doctrine)|Imam]] in exile who returns to incite revolt from the people of his country with no regard for their safety. According to Khomeini's son, his father never read the book.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=14 August 2022 |title=Ayatollah Khomeini Never Read Salman Rushdie's Book |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/ayatollah-khomeini-never-read-salman-rushdies-book |access-date=14 August 2022 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |archive-date=14 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814200317/https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/ayatollah-khomeini-never-read-salman-rushdies-book |url-status=live }}</ref> A bounty was offered for Rushdie's death,<ref name="independent.co.uk">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/salman-rushdie-iranian-state-media-renew-fatwa-on-satanic-verses-author-with-600000-bounty-a6887141.html|title=Iranian state media has put a $600,000 bounty on Salman Rushdie's head|first=Samuel|last=Osborne|date=21 February 2016|website=The Independent|access-date=24 December 2018|archive-date=29 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929090017/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/salman-rushdie-iranian-state-media-renew-fatwa-on-satanic-verses-author-with-600000-bounty-a6887141.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and he was thus forced to live under police protection for several years.<ref name="independent.co.uk"/> On 7 March 1989, the United Kingdom and [[Iran]] broke [[Iran&nbsp;– United Kingdom relations|diplomatic]] relations over the Rushdie controversy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/08/world/iran-breaks-off-relations-with-britian.html|title=Iran Breaks Off Relations With Britain|first1=Sheila|last1=Rule|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 March 1989|access-date=24 January 2019|archive-date=25 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525113255/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/08/world/iran-breaks-off-relations-with-britian.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1989, ''[[The New York Times]]'' published "Words For Salman Rushdie": "28 distinguished writers born in 21 countries speak to him from their common land – the country of literature. For expressing their ideas publicly in the past many of these writers have suffered censorship, exile – forced or self-imposed – and imprisonment." [[Czesław Miłosz]] wrote: "I have particular reasons to defend your rights, Mr. Rushdie. My books have been forbidden in many countries or have had whole passages censored out. I'm grateful to people who stood then by the principle of free expression, and I back you now in my turn." [[Ralph Ellison]]: "You deserve the full and passionate solidarity of any man of dignity, but I am afraid this is too little. This story of a man alone against worldwide intolerance, and of a book alone against the craziness of the media, can become the story of many others. The bell tolls for all of us." [[Umberto Eco]]: "Keep to your convictions. Try to protect yourself. A death sentence is a rather harsh review." [[Anita Desai]]: "Silence, exile and cunning, yes. And courage."<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 12, 1989 |title=Words for Salman Rushdie |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-words.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |access-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404010037/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-words.html?_r=1&oref=slogin |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Christopher Hitchens]] recalled: "When the ''Washington Post'' telephoned me on Valentine's Day 1989 to ask for my opinion about the Ayatollah Khomeini's ''fatwah'', I felt at once here was something that completely committed me. It was, if I can phrase it like this, a matter of everything I hated versus everything I loved. In the hate column: dictatorship, religion, stupidity, demagogy, censorship, bullying, and intimidation. In the love column: literature, irony, humour, the individual, and the defense of free expression. Plus, of course, friendship–although I'd like to think my response would have been the same even if I hadn't known Salman at all. To re-state the premise of the argument again: the theocratic head of a foreign despotism offers money in his own name in order to suborn the murder of a civilian of another country, for the offense of writing a work of fiction. No more root-and-branch challenge to the values of [[the Enlightenment]] (on the bicentennial of the [[fall of the Bastille]]), or to the [[First Amendment to the Constitution]], could be imagined."<ref>{{cite book| last=Hitchens| first=Christopher| title=[[Hitch-22]]| page=268}}</ref> Rushdie wrote: "I have often been asked if Christopher defended me because he was my close friend. The truth is that he became my close friend because he wanted to defend me ... He and I found ourselves describing our ideas, without conferring, in almost identical terms. I began to understand that while I had not chosen the battle it was at least the right battle, because in it everything that I loved and valued (literature, freedom, irreverence, freedom, irreligion, freedom) was ranged against everything I detested (fanaticism, violence, bigotry, humorlessness, philistinism, and the new offense culture of the age). Then I read Christopher using exactly the same everything-he-loved-versus-everything-he-hated trope, and felt … understood."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Rushdie |first=Salman |date=2012-01-06 |title=Salman Rushdie on the Wonder of Christopher Hitchens |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/02/rushdie-on-hitchens-201202 |access-date=2025-04-08 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1993, 100 writers and intellectuals from the Muslim world, including [[Adonis (poet)|Adonis]], [[Mohammed Arkoun]], [[Mahmoud Darwish]], [[Amin Maalouf]] and [[Edward Said]] expressed solidarity in the collection ''For Rushdie''. [[Naguib Mahfouz]] wrote: "The veritable terrorism of which he is a target is unjustifiable, indefensible. One idea can only be opposed by other ideas. Even if the punishment is carried out, the idea as well as the book will remain." [[Tahar Ben Jelloun]] wrote that the fatwa was "intolerable, inadmissible and has nothing to do with the tolerant Islam that I was taught" and threatened "the ability to create characters and develop them in the space and time chosen by the writer." [[Rabah Belamri]] wrote "A society that refuses to question itself, that denies artists and thinkers the right to raise doubts, that dares not laugh at itself, has no hope of prospering." The composer [[Ahmed Essyad]] wrote a piece of music dedicated "To Salman Rushdie, so that, as an artist, he can write what I disagree with." Rushdie expressed gratitude for "anthology of blows struck in the fight against obscurantism and fanaticism" by "the most gifted, the most learned, the most important voices of the Muslim and Arab world, gathered together to subject my work and the furor surrounding it to so brilliant, so many-sided, so judicious an examination."<ref>{{cite news| last=Ridding| first=Alan| title=Muslim Thinkers Rally for Rushdie| date=November 4, 1993| work=The New York Times| url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/99/04/18/specials/rushdie-rally.html?scp=56&sq=edward%2520said&st=cse}}</ref>

When, on [[BBC Radio 4]], he was asked for a response to the threat, Rushdie said, "Frankly, I wish I had written a more critical book," and "I'm very sad that it should have happened. It's not true that this book is a blasphemy against Islam. I doubt very much that Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read the book or more than selected extracts out of context."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/1989/feb/15/salmanrushdie|title=Rushdie in hiding after Ayatollah's death threat|first=Peter|last=Murtagh|newspaper=The Guardian |date=15 February 1989|access-date=24 December 2018|via=www.theguardian.com|archive-date=20 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120221045/https://www.theguardian.com/books/1989/feb/15/salmanrushdie|url-status=live}}</ref> Later, he wrote that he was "proud, then and always", of that statement; while he did not feel his book was especially critical of Islam, "a religion whose leaders behaved in this way could probably use a little criticism."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Rushdie|first=Salman|title=The Disappeared|date=10 September 2012|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/09/17/120917fa_fact_rushdie|magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |issue=17 September 2012|page= 50|access-date=16 September 2012|archive-date=1 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701140621/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/09/17/120917fa_fact_rushdie|url-status=live}}</ref>

The publication of the book and the ''fatwa'' sparked violence around the world, with bookstores firebombed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/29/satanic-verses-sowed-seeds-of-rift-grown-ever-wider|title=The Satanic Verses sowed the seeds of rifts that have grown ever wider – Kenan Malik|first=Kenan|last=Malik|newspaper=The Observer |date=29 September 2018|access-date=24 December 2018|via=www.theguardian.com|archive-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203221040/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/29/satanic-verses-sowed-seeds-of-rift-grown-ever-wider|url-status=live}}</ref> Muslim communities in several nations in the West held public rallies, [[Book burning|burning]] copies of the book.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/07/satanic-verses-salman-rushdie-low-point|title=The Satanic Verses affair marked a low point for politicians – Letters|newspaper=The Observer |date=7 October 2018|access-date=24 December 2018|via=www.theguardian.com|archive-date=7 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207084729/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/07/satanic-verses-salman-rushdie-low-point|url-status=live}}</ref> Several people associated with translating or publishing the book were attacked, seriously injured, and even killed.{{efn|See [[Hitoshi Igarashi]], [[Ettore Capriolo]], [[William Nygaard]].}} Many more people died in riots in some countries. Despite the danger posed by the fatwa, Rushdie made a public appearance at London's [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] on 11 August 1993, during a [[Zoo TV Tour|concert by U2]]. In 2010, U2 bassist [[Adam Clayton]] recalled that "lead vocalist Bono had been calling Salman Rushdie from the stage every night on the Zoo TV tour. When we played Wembley, Salman showed up in person and the stadium erupted. You [could] tell from [drummer] Larry Mullen, Jr.'s face that we weren't expecting it. Salman was a regular visitor after that. He had a backstage pass and he used it as often as possible. For a man who was supposed to be in hiding, it was remarkably easy to see him around the place."<ref>{{cite news|title=Stairway to Devon − OK, Somerset!|work=Q|date=July 2010|page=101|author=U2|author-link=U2}}</ref>

On 24 September 1998, as a precondition to the restoration of diplomatic relations with the UK, the Iranian government, then headed by [[Mohammad Khatami]], gave a public commitment that it would "neither support nor hinder assassination operations on Rushdie."<ref name="Tomb">{{cite news|date=8 June 2005|title=Tomb of the unknown assassin reveals mission to kill Rushdie|first=Anthony|last= Loyd|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article531110.ece|work=The Times |location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601171205/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article531110.ece|archive-date=1 June 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/26/newsid_2542000/2542873.stm|publisher=BBC News: On This Day|title=26 December 1990: Iranian leader upholds Rushdie fatwa|access-date=10 October 2006|date=26 December 1990|archive-date=7 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407120528/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/26/newsid_2542000/2542873.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hardliners in Iran have continued to reaffirm the death sentence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meforum.org/article/1002|publisher=The Middle East Forum: Promoting American Interests|title=Can Iran Be Trusted?|last=Rubin|first=Michael|date=1 September 2006|access-date=10 October 2006|archive-date=26 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061026203104/http://www.meforum.org/article/1002|url-status=live}}</ref> In early 2005, Khomeini's ''fatwa'' was reaffirmed by Iran's current leader, [[Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]], in a message to Muslim pilgrims making the [[Hajj|annual pilgrimage]] to [[Mecca]].<ref name="webster-bbc">{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article414681.ece|work=The Times |title=Ayatollah revives the death fatwa on Salman Rushdie|last1=Webster|first1=Philip|author1-link=Philip Webster|last2=Hoyle|first2=Ben|last3=Navai|first3=Ramita|author3-link=Ramita Navai|date=20 January 2005|access-date=10 October 2006|location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303071409/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article414681.ece |archive-date=3 March 2007}}</ref> Additionally, the [[Revolutionary Guards]] declared that the death sentence on him is still valid.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4260599.stm |work=BBC News |title=Iran adamant over Rushdie fatwa|date=12 February 2005|access-date=10 October 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206020617/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4260599.stm|archive-date=6 February 2006}}</ref>

Rushdie has reported that he still receives a "sort of [[Valentine's Day|Valentine]]'s card" from Iran each year on 14 February letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to kill him and has jokingly referred to it as "[[My Funny Valentine|my unfunny Valentine]]".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/02/15/my-unfunny-valentine |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |title=My Unfunny Valentine |first=Salman |last=Rushdie |date=15 February 1999 |access-date=7 November 2017 |archive-date=1 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801072423/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/02/15/my-unfunny-valentine |url-status=live }}</ref> He said, "It's reached the point where it's a piece of rhetoric rather than a real threat."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2007021501382200.htm&date=2007/02/15/&prd=th&date=2007/02/15/&prd=th&|title=Rushdie's term|website=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=15 February 2007}}</ref> Despite the threats on Rushdie personally, he said that his family has never been threatened, and that his mother, who lived in Pakistan during the later years of her life, even received outpourings of support. Rushdie himself has been prevented from entering Pakistan, however.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidcronenberg.de/cr_rushd.htm |title=Cronenberg meets Rushdie: David Cronenberg and Salman Rushdie talk... |magazine=Shift Magazine|date=June–July 1995|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403045531/http://www.davidcronenberg.de/cr_rushd.htm |archive-date=3 April 2007 }}</ref>

A former bodyguard to Rushdie, Ron Evans, planned to publish a book recounting the behaviour of the author during the time he was in hiding. Evans said Rushdie tried to profit financially from the ''fatwa'' and was suicidal, but Rushdie dismissed the book as a "bunch of lies" and took legal action against Evans, his co-author and their publisher.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7538875.stm|title=Rushdie anger at policeman's book|publisher=BBC|date=2 August 2008|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-date=28 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428212041/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7538875.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> On 26 August 2008, Rushdie received an apology at the High Court in London from all three parties.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7581842.stm|title=Bodyguard apologises to Rushdie|publisher=BBC|date=26 August 2008|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-date=17 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217223134/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7581842.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> A memoir of his years of hiding, ''Joseph Anton'', was released on 18 September 2012; "Joseph Anton" was Rushdie's secret alias during the height of the controversy.<ref name="fatwa memoir">{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|date=12 April 2012|title=Salman Rushdie reveals details of fatwa memoir|first=Alison|last=Flood|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/12/salman-rushdie-reveals-fatwa-memoir|access-date=27 April 2012|location=London|archive-date=26 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226102636/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/apr/12/salman-rushdie-reveals-fatwa-memoir|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 1997, [[Hassan Sane'i|Ayatollah Hasan Sane'i]], leader of the ''bonyad panzdah-e khordad'' (Fifteenth of Khordad Foundation),
reported that the blood money offered by the foundation for the assassination of Rushdie would be increased from $2&nbsp;million to $2.5&nbsp;million.<ref name=buchta>{{cite book|last=Buchta|first=Wilfried|title=Who rules Iran?|year=2000|publisher=The Washington Institute and The Konrad Adenauer|page=6|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/WhoRulesIran.pdf|access-date=11 November 2012|archive-date=24 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324173725/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/WhoRulesIran.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Then a semi-official religious foundation in Iran increased the reward it had offered for the killing of Rushdie from $2.8&nbsp;million to $3.3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|title=Iran adds to reward for Salman Rushdie's death|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/iran_adds_to_reward_for_salman_rushdie_saVWIyfViyXOr0vgnUEvRK|author=Post Staff Report|date=16 September 2012|access-date=16 September 2012|newspaper=The New York Post|archive-date=19 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919231842/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/iran_adds_to_reward_for_salman_rushdie_saVWIyfViyXOr0vgnUEvRK|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2015, former Indian minister [[P. Chidambaram]] acknowledged that banning ''The Satanic Verses'' was wrong.<ref>{{cite news|title=Govt's decision to ban Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' was wrong, says P Chidambaram|url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/govts-decison-to-ban-salman-rushdies-the-satanic-verses-was-wrong-says-p-chidambaram-2525306.html|date=28 November 2015|access-date=17 October 2016|newspaper=Firstpost|archive-date=22 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122073815/http://www.firstpost.com/india/govts-decison-to-ban-salman-rushdies-the-satanic-verses-was-wrong-says-p-chidambaram-2525306.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/ban-on-salman-rushdies-book-by-rajiv-gandhi-govt-was-wrong-chidambaram/|title=Rajiv Gandhi govt's ban on Salman Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses' wrong: Chidambaram|date=29 November 2015|newspaper=The Indian Express|access-date=25 October 2016|archive-date=19 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019002419/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/ban-on-salman-rushdies-book-by-rajiv-gandhi-govt-was-wrong-chidambaram/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1998, Iran's former president [[Mohammad Khatami]] proclaimed the fatwa "finished"; but it has never been officially lifted, and in fact has been reiterated several times by Ali Khamenei and other religious officials. Yet more money was added to the bounty in February 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/22/salman-rushdie-iranian-media-raise-more-money-for-fatwa|title=Salman Rushdie: Iranian media raise more money for fatwa|first=Sian|last=Cain|newspaper=The Guardian|date=22 February 2016|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=24 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224172450/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/22/salman-rushdie-iranian-media-raise-more-money-for-fatwa|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Failed assassination attempt (1989)===
On 3 August 1989, while a man using the alias<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/first-rushdie-martyr-untold-assassination-plot-revealed/cid/873683 |title=First Rushdie 'martyr' - Untold assassination plot revealed |newspaper=The Telegraph India |date=8 June 2005 |first=Anthony |last=Loyd}}</ref> Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh was priming a book bomb loaded with [[RDX]] explosives in a hotel in [[Paddington]], Central London, the bomb exploded prematurely, destroying two floors of the hotel and killing Mazeh. A previously unknown Lebanese group, the Organization of the Mujahidin of Islam, said he died preparing an attack "on the [[apostasy in Islam|apostate]] Rushdie". There is a shrine in Tehran's [[Behesht-e Zahra]] cemetery for Mustafa Mahmoud Mazeh that says he was "Martyred in London, 3 August 1989. The first martyr to die on a mission to kill Salman Rushdie." Mazeh's mother was invited to relocate to Iran, and the Islamic World Movement of Martyrs' Commemoration built his shrine in the cemetery that holds thousands of Iranian soldiers slain in the [[Iran–Iraq War]].<ref name="Tomb"/>

===Translators Attacked ===
In 1991 an Italian translator of the book was stabbed but survived. Days later [[Hitoshi Igarashi]], its Japanese translator and a convert to Islam, was stabbed to death. Two years later its Norwegian publisher, [[William Nygaard]], was shot three times but survived.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/salman-rushdie-attack-stabbing-fatwa-7wrnj885d|title=Salman Rushdie thought the nightmare was over but death was stalking him for 36 years|first=Will Pavia|last=Chautauqua|date=22 February 2025|website=www.thetimes.com|accessdate=23 February 2025}}</ref>

=== Hezbollah's comments (2006) ===
During the 2006 [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons controversy]], [[Hezbollah]] leader [[Hassan Nasrallah]] declared that "If there had been a Muslim to carry out Imam Khomeini's ''fatwa'' against the renegade Salman Rushdie, this rabble who insult our Prophet Mohammed in Denmark, Norway and France would not have dared to do so. I am sure there are millions of Muslims who are ready to give their lives to defend our prophet's honour and we have to be ready to do anything for that."<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.natashatynes.com/newswire/2006/02/hezbollah_killi.html|date=2 February 2006|title=Hezbollah: Rushdie death would stop Prophet insults|agency=Agence France-Presse|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070807085216/http://www.natashatynes.com/newswire/2006/02/hezbollah_killi.html|archive-date= 7 August 2007|access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref>

===''International Guerillas'' (1990)===
In 1990, soon after the publication of ''The Satanic Verses'', a [[Pakistani film]] entitled ''[[International Gorillay]]'' (''International Guerillas'') was released that depicted Rushdie as a "James Bond-style villain" plotting to cause the downfall of Pakistan by opening a chain of casinos and discos in the country; he is ultimately killed at the end of the movie. The film was popular with Pakistani audiences, and it "presents Rushdie as a [[John Rambo|Rambo]]-like figure pursued by four Pakistani guerrillas".<ref name="Tamney">{{cite book|title=The Resilience of Conservative Religion: The Case of Popular, Conservative Protestant Congregations|first=Joseph Bernard |last=Tamney|publisher=The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge| location=Cambridge, UK|year=2002}}</ref> The [[British Board of Film Classification]] refused to allow it a certificate; "it was felt that the portrayal of Rushdie might qualify as criminal libel, causing a breach of the peace as opposed to merely tarnishing his reputation." This effectively prevented the release of the film in the UK. Two months later, however, Rushdie himself wrote to the board, saying that while he thought the film "a distorted, incompetent piece of trash", he would not sue if it were released. He later said, "If that film had been banned, it would have become the hottest video in town: everyone would have seen it". While the film was a great hit in Pakistan, it went virtually unnoticed elsewhere.<ref name="IGlibel">{{cite web|title=International Guerrillas and Criminal Libel|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/460938/index.html|website=Screenonline|access-date=7 February 2008|archive-date=7 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090907202150/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/460938/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Al-Qaeda hit list (2010)===
In 2010,<ref>{{cite web|first=Scott|last= Stewart|date=22 July 2010|title=Fanning the Flames of Jihad|url=http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100721_fanning_flames_jihad|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706135755/http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20100721_fanning_flames_jihad|archive-date=6 July 2013|work=Security Weekly|publisher=Stratfor|quote=Inspire also features a "hit list" that includes the names of people like Westergaard who were involved in the cartoon controversy as well as other targets such as Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who produced the controversial film Fitna in 2008}}</ref> [[Anwar al-Awlaki]] published an Al-Qaeda hit list in [[Inspire (magazine)|''Inspire'' magazine]], including Rushdie along with other figures claimed to have insulted Islam, including [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]], cartoonist [[Lars Vilks]], and three ''Jyllands-Posten'' staff members: [[Kurt Westergaard]], [[Carsten Juste]], and [[Flemming Rose]].<ref name="thewire2013">{{cite web|first=Dashiell|last=Bennet|date=1 March 2013|title=Look Who's on Al Qaeda's Most-Wanted List|url=http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/03/al-qaeda-most-wanted-list/62673/|work=The Wire|access-date=15 January 2015|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025952/http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/03/al-qaeda-most-wanted-list/62673/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Conal |last=Urquhart|title=Paris Police Say 12 Dead After Shooting at Charlie Hebdo|magazine=Time|url=https://time.com/3657246/paris-charlie-hebdo-shooting/|date=7 January 2015|access-date=15 January 2015|archive-date=22 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122052445/http://time.com/3657246/paris-charlie-hebdo-shooting/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Victoria|last= Ward|title=Murdered Charlie Hebdo cartoonist was on al Qaeda wanted list|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11330505/Murdered-Charlie-Hebdo-cartoonist-was-on-al-Qaeda-wanted-list.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11330505/Murdered-Charlie-Hebdo-cartoonist-was-on-al-Qaeda-wanted-list.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=The Telegraph|date=7 January 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The list was later expanded to include [[Stéphane "Charb" Charbonnier]], who was [[Charlie Hebdo shooting|murdered in a terror attack on ''Charlie Hebdo'']] in Paris, along with 11 other people. After the attack, Al-Qaeda called for more killings.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lucy Cormack|date=8 January 2015|title=Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier crossed off chilling al-Qaeda hitlist|url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/charlie-hebdo-editor-stephane-charbonnier-crossed-off-chilling-alqaeda-hitlist-20150108-12k97z.html|work=The Age|access-date=15 January 2015|archive-date=11 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111014923/http://www.theage.com.au/world/charlie-hebdo-editor-stephane-charbonnier-crossed-off-chilling-alqaeda-hitlist-20150108-12k97z.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rushdie expressed his support for ''Charlie Hebdo'', saying "I stand with ''Charlie Hebdo'', as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity&nbsp;... religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today."<ref>''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. 7 January 2015. [https://time.com/3657541/charlie-hebdo-paris-terror-attack-salman-rushdie/ salman rushdie response] </ref> In response to the attack, Rushdie commented on what he perceived as [[victim-blaming]] in the media, stating: "You can dislike ''Charlie Hebdo''.... But the fact that you dislike them has nothing to do with their right to speak. The fact you dislike them certainly doesn't in any way excuse their murder."<ref>{{cite news|first=Wilson|last=Ring|date=15 January 2015|title=Salman Rushdie, threatened over book, defends free speech|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cb016b953bac485cb55b7ac214cecc3a/salman-rushdie-threatened-over-book-defends-free-speech|agency=Associated Press|access-date=15 January 2015|archive-date=24 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124022443/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cb016b953bac485cb55b7ac214cecc3a/salman-rushdie-threatened-over-book-defends-free-speech|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Jack|last=Thurston|date=15 January 2015|title=After Paris Attacks, Salman Rushdie Defends Absolute Right of Free Speech While in Vermont|url=http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Salman-Rushdie-Defends-Absolute-Right-of-Free-Speech-in-Vermont-288620891.html|work=NECN|publisher=NBC Universal|access-date=15 January 2015|archive-date=18 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150118190652/http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Salman-Rushdie-Defends-Absolute-Right-of-Free-Speech-in-Vermont-288620891.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Jaipur Literature Festival (2012)===
{{main|Jaipur Literature Festival}}
Rushdie was due to appear at the [[Jaipur Literature Festival]] in January 2012 in [[Jaipur, Rajasthan]], India.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/program-2011/speakers-2012/#o|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125234432/http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/program-2011/speakers-2012|url-status=dead|title=2012 Speakers|archive-date=25 January 2012}}</ref> However, he later cancelled his event appearance, and a further tour of India at the time, citing a possible threat to his life as the primary reason.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Salman-Rushdie-not-to-attend-Jaipur-Literature-Festival/articleshow/11565622.cms|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121201171235/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-20/india/30646521_1_jaipur-literature-festival-salman-rushdie-satanic-verses|url-status= live|archive-date= 1 December 2012|title=Salman Rushdie not to attend Jaipur Literature Festival|last=Singh|first= Akhilesh Kumar|date=20 January 2012|work= [[The Times of India]]|access-date=20 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16644782|title=Salman Rushdie pulls out of Jaipur literature festival|date=20 January 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=20 January 2012|archive-date=20 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120175134/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-16644782|url-status=live}}</ref> Several days after, he indicated that state police agencies had lied, in order to keep him away, when they informed him that paid assassins were being sent to Jaipur to kill him. Police contended that they were afraid Rushdie would read from the banned ''The Satanic Verses'', and that the threat was real, considering imminent protests by Muslim organizations.<ref name=virtual_rushdie_unwelcome/>

Meanwhile, Indian authors [[Ruchir Joshi]], [[Jeet Thayil]], [[Hari Kunzru]] and [[Amitava Kumar]] abruptly left the festival, and Jaipur, after reading excerpts from Rushdie's banned novel at the festival. The four were urged to leave by organizers as there was a real possibility they would be arrested.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Salman-Rushdie-shadow-on-Jaipur-Literature-Festival-4-authors-who-read-from-The-Satanic-Verses-sent-packing/articleshow/11595228.cms|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120205203714/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-23/jaipur/30655383_1_jaipur-literature-festival-hari-kunzru-organizers|url-status= live|archive-date= 5 February 2012|title= Salman Rushdie shadow on Jaipur Literature Festival: 4 authors who read from 'The Satanic Verses' sent packing|author1=Singh, Akhilesh Kumar |author2=Chowdhury, Shreya Roy |date=23 January 2012|work= [[The Times of India]]|access-date=23 January 2012}}</ref>

A proposed video link session between Rushdie and the Jaipur Literature Festival was also cancelled at the last minute<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/books/rushdies-video-talk-is-canceled-at-india-literature-festival.html|title=Rushdie's Video Talk Is Canceled at India Literature Festival|last=Gill|first=Nikhila|date=24 January 2012|work=The New York Times|access-date=6 December 2014|archive-date=14 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214183749/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/books/rushdies-video-talk-is-canceled-at-india-literature-festival.html|url-status=live}}</ref> after the government pressured the festival to stop it.<ref name=virtual_rushdie_unwelcome>{{cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Jaipur-Literature-Festival-Even-a-virtual-Rushdie-is-unwelcome-for-Rajasthan-govt/articleshow/11609354.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116101750/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-24/jaipur/30658450_1_rushdie-video-video-link-satanic-verses|url-status=live|archive-date=16 January 2013|title= Jaipur Literature Festival: Even a virtual Rushdie is unwelcome for Rajasthan govt|author= Singh, Akhilesh Kumar|date=24 January 2012|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=24 January 2012}}</ref> Rushdie returned to India to address a conference in New Delhi on 16 March 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17349023|work=BBC News|title=Salman Rushdie to be a 'presence' at India conference|date=13 March 2012|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=14 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114170754/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17349023|url-status=live}}</ref>

===2022 murder attempt===
{{Main|Stabbing of Salman Rushdie}}
On 12 August 2022, while about to start a lecture at the [[Chautauqua Institution]] in [[Chautauqua, New York|Chautauqua]], New York, Rushdie was attacked by a man who rushed onto the stage and stabbed him repeatedly, including in the face, neck and abdomen.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last1=Root |first1=Jay |last2=Gelles |first2=David |last3=Harris |first3=Elizabeth A. |last4=Jacobs |first4=Julia |date=12 August 2022 |title=Salman Rushdie on Ventilator Hours After Being Stabbed in Western New York |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/12/nyregion/salman-rushdie-stabbed-new-york |access-date=13 August 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812163021/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/12/nyregion/salman-rushdie-stabbed-new-york |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Who is Hadi Matar? Everything we know about Salman Rushdie's alleged attacker {{!}} Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/hadi-matar-everything-we-know-salman-rushdies-alleged-attacker.amp |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=www.foxnews.com}}</ref> The attacker was pulled away before being taken into custody by a [[New York State Police|state trooper]]; Rushdie was airlifted to [[UPMC Hamot]], a tertiary trauma centre in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], where he underwent surgery before being put on a ventilator.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Kanishka |last2=Allen |first2=Jonathan |date=13 August 2022 |title=Salman Rushdie on ventilator after New York stabbing |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/author-salman-rushdie-attacked-stage-event-new-york-sky-news-2022-08-12/ |access-date=13 August 2022 |archive-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812170728/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/author-salman-rushdie-attacked-stage-event-new-york-sky-news-2022-08-12/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Security measures at UPMC Hamot were increased due to the potential threat of further attempts on his life. This included 24-hour protection with a security officer outside his room and searches being performed upon entry into the hospital. The suspect was identified as 24-year-old [[Hadi Matar]] of [[Fairview, New Jersey]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Vargas|first=Ramon Antonio|date=12 August 2022|title=Police identify Salman Rushdie attack suspect as 24-year-old from New Jersey|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/12/salman-rushdie-attack-suspect-identified-hadi-matar|access-date=14 August 2022|work=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=13 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813012719/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/12/salman-rushdie-attack-suspect-identified-hadi-matar|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Singh|first1=Kanishka|last2=Allen|first2=Jonathan|date=12 August 2022|title=Salman Rushdie is stabbed in the neck at a New York lecture|language=en|publisher=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/author-salman-rushdie-attacked-stage-event-new-york-sky-news-2022-08-12/|url-status=live|access-date=14 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812170728/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/author-salman-rushdie-attacked-stage-event-new-york-sky-news-2022-08-12/|archive-date=12 August 2022}}</ref> Later in the day, Rushdie's agent, [[Andrew Wylie (literary agent)|Andrew Wylie]], confirmed that Rushdie had received stab injuries to the liver and hand, and that he might lose an eye.<ref>{{cite news |title=Salman Rushdie: Author on ventilator and unable to speak, agent says |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62528689 |work=BBC News |date=13 August 2022 |access-date=13 August 2022 |archive-date=13 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813000655/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62528689 |url-status=live }}</ref> A day later, Rushdie was taken off the ventilator and was able to speak.<ref name="AP Off Ventilator">{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/salman-rushdie-on-ventilator-after-new-york-stabbing-5ea54212d71b95569ed85df7b0fb5fea|title=Agent: Rushdie off ventilator and talking, day after attack|publisher=AP News|first1=Carolyn|last1=Thompson|first2=Hillel|last2=Italie|date=14 August 2022|access-date=14 August 2022|archive-date=13 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813205627/https://apnews.com/article/salman-rushdie-on-ventilator-after-new-york-stabbing-5ea54212d71b95569ed85df7b0fb5fea|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=14 August 2022 |title=Salman Rushdie is off ventilator and able to talk, agent says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/aug/14/salman-rushdie-is-off-ventilator-and-able-to-talk-agent-says |access-date=14 August 2022 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=14 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814020814/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/aug/14/salman-rushdie-is-off-ventilator-and-able-to-talk-agent-says |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 23 October 2022, Wylie reported that Rushdie had lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand but survived the murder attempt.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Altares |first=Guillermo |date=22 October 2022 |title=Andrew Wylie, 'The Jackal' of books: 'Amazon is like ISIS; it takes no prisoners' |url=https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-10-22/andrew-wylie-the-jackal-of-books-amazon-is-like-isis-it-takes-no-prisoners.html |access-date=24 October 2022 |website=EL PAÍS English Edition |language=en-us |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023235335/https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-10-22/andrew-wylie-the-jackal-of-books-amazon-is-like-isis-it-takes-no-prisoners.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jones 2022">{{cite news | last=Jones | first=Sam | title=Salman Rushdie has lost sight in one eye and use of one hand, says agent | newspaper=The Guardian | date=23 October 2022 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/23/salman-rushdie-has-lost-sight-in-one-eye-and-use-of-one-hand-says-agent | access-date=23 October 2022 | archive-date=18 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618060655/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/23/salman-rushdie-has-lost-sight-in-one-eye-and-use-of-one-hand-says-agent | url-status=live }}</ref> Rushdie's memoir about the attack, ''[[Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder]]'', was published in April 2024.<ref name="Wagner">{{Cite news |last=Wagner |first=Erica |date=2024-04-15 |title=Review: Salman Rushdie's memoir is horrific, upsetting – and a masterpiece |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/knife-review-salman-rushdie-new-book-horrific-masterpiece/ |access-date=2024-04-16 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> It hit number one in the Sunday Times Bestsellers List in the General hardbacks category.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Times |first=The Sunday |date=2024-04-28 |title=The Sunday Times Bestsellers List — the UK's definitive book chart |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/sunday-times-bestsellers-list-book-sales-chart-fnxjm0bnl |access-date=2024-04-28 |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> In the memoir, Rushdie engages in fictional conversations with the assailant, who is referred to as 'A.'<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sathian |first=Sanjena |date=2024-04-16 |title=Salman Rushdie Did Not Want to Write This Book |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/salman-rushdie-knife-book-review.html |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=Vulture |language=en}}</ref>

The jury selection for the trial was originally scheduled to begin on 8 January 2024. However, Matar's lawyer successfully petitioned to delay the trial, arguing that they are entitled to see the memoir and any related materials before Matar stands trial, as the documents constitute evidence.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2024-01-04 |title=Trial of Salman Rushdie's attacker postponed because of author's memoir |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/jan/04/trial-of-salman-rushdies-attacker-postponed-because-of-authors-memoir |access-date=2024-04-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

Rushdie recalled experiencing a vivid dream of being stabbed in an ancient [[Roman amphitheatre]] two days before the actual stabbing occurred. The intensity of the dream caused him to consider canceling the event until he eventually decided on attending.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gross |first1=Terry |title=Two nights before the attack, Salman Rushdie dreamed he was stabbed onstage |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/04/16/1244847366/salman-rushdie-knife |website=NPR}}</ref>

In February 2025, the attacker, Hadi Matar, was found guilty of attempted murder and assault in connection with the stabbing.<ref>{{cite news |title=Attacker Convicted in Salman Rushdie Stabbing Case |url=https://citizennewsdaily.com/attacker-convicted-in-salman-rushdie-stabbing-case/ |access-date=22 February 2025 |work=Citizen News Daily |date=February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-21 |title=Salman Rushdie attacker found guilty of attempted murder and assault |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkn4m0ym32o |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Vargas |first=Ramon Antonio |date=2025-02-21 |title=Man found guilty of attempted murder in Salman Rushdie stabbing trial |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/feb/21/salman-rushdie-stabbing-trial |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fadulu |first=Lola |date=2025-02-21 |title=Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie Is Found Guilty of Attempted Murder |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/nyregion/salman-rushdie-hadi-matar-verdict.html |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In May 2025, Matar was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the attack.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crane |first=Emily |date=2025-05-16 |title=Salman Rushdie’s attacker Hadi Matar sentenced for horrific stabbing |url=https://nypost.com/2025/05/16/us-news/salman-rushdies-attacker-hadi-matar-sentenced-for-horrific-stabbing/ |access-date=2025-05-16 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-16 |title=Salman Rushdie attacker sentenced to 25 years in prison |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp85kg527p9o |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>