The account was taken down late Friday night. There are no definitive links to the causes of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but an initial intelligence assessment indicated that it is sympathetic to the Iranian government group, an official told NBC. The British author lived under the shadow of a fatwa imposed 33 years ago after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which many Muslims consider blasphemous. The late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 called for Rushdie’s death, while in 2012 an Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty on Rushdie’s head to $3.3m (£2.7m).
“Matar is a devout Muslim who spoke of kindness”
Officers at Mr Matar’s home were seen talking to a woman believed to be his sister, but the family declined to speak to the media. Neighbors on the tree-lined street of single-family homes described a quiet family that moved in several years ago. Some said they believed the Matar were originally from Lebanon. Wilbur Iza said the neighborhood was not particularly tight-knit and was fairly ethnically mixed, with residents moving in and out of the area frequently.
