Salman Rushdie — the 75-year-old author violently attacked in August by a knife-wielding Islamic terrorist — has lost sight in one eye and the use of one of his hands because of the assault.
Rushdie’s literary agent, Andrew Wylie, recently explained to Spain’s Eli País the seriousness of the injuries his client sustained during the attack in New York.
“[His wounds] were profound, but he’s [also] lost the sight of one eye,” he said, according to The Guardian. “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.”
The violent attack, allegedly carried out by a Shia Muslim radical, unfolded while Rushdie was on stage at the Chautauqua Institution, where he was leading a lecture and discussion. The author has been the subject of militant Islamist threats since 1988, when he published, “The Satanic Verses,” in which some Muslims said he “blasphemed” the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
At the time of the book’s publishing, Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini declared a fatwa against Rushdie, calling for the author’s murder, as well as a $3 million reward. Khomeini’s order reportedly led to the 1991 killing of a Japanese scholar who translated Rushdie’s novel into Japanese.
Listen to CBN News’ morning podcast, Quick Start 👇
To that end, Wylie explained that he and Rushdie had, in the past, talked about a potential attempt on the author’s life.
“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. It was like John Lennon[’s murder].”
The man accused of stabbing the author, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder when he appeared in court Aug. 18. He was arraigned during a hearing in Chautauqua county district court on a grand jury indictment charging him with one count of second-degree attempted murder and one count of second-degree assault.
Wylie did not make clear whether Rushdie is still in the hospital.
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***