New York ∙ Hadi Matar (24), a native of New Jersey, said that he attacked the novelist Salman Rushdie on his own decision and did not contact anyone else for it. Rushdie was disliked because he was ‘perverse’. Only a few pages of Rushdie’s novel ‘Satanic Versus’ were read. Matar has denied reports of links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In an interview with The New York Post, Matar said that he was surprised to hear that Rushdie had survived. Matar did not say whether the attack was motivated by the influence of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who in 1989 issued a religious decree to execute Rushdie for blasphemy in his novel. He only said, ‘Khomeini is a great person, I respect him’. Rushdie (75) was stabbed several times by Matar when he came to speak at Shattoqua Institution in New York.
English Summary: Salman Rushdie murder attempt accused statement