Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses drew death threats from Iran’s leaders in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen on Friday by a man who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York . Louise Dennys, executive vice-president and publisher of Penguin Random House Canada, has published and edited Rushdie’s writings for more than 30 years. She condemned the attack on her long-time friend and colleague as “cowardly” and “reprehensible in every way”. “He is without a doubt one of the greatest advocates of freedom of thought and speech and debate and discussion in the world today,” Dennis said in a telephone interview. “I’m hopeful for his recovery. He’s a great warrior and fighter and I hope he fights back.” Rushdie, 75, a native of India who has lived in Britain and the US, is known for his surreal and satirical prose style. People tend to Rushdie after he was attacked during a lecture at Chautauqua in New York on Friday. (Joshua Goodman/The Associated Press) The Satanic Verses drew death threats after its publication in 1988, with many Muslims viewing a dream sequence based on the life of the Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous, among other objections. Rushdie’s book had already been banned and burned in India, Pakistan and elsewhere before Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a 1989 fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death. A 24-year-old man is in custody facing charges in connection with Friday’s attack. The defendant was born a decade after The Satanic Verses was published. Police said a motive was unclear. Investigators were working to determine if anyone else could be connected to the incident. Following the publication of The Satanic Verses, often violent protests broke out across the Muslim world against Rushdie. At least 45 people were killed in riots over the book, including 12 in Rushdie’s hometown of Mumbai. In 1991, a Japanese translator of the book was stabbed to death and an Italian translator survived a knife attack. In 1993, the book’s Norwegian publisher was shot three times and survived. Death threats prompted Rushdie to go into hiding under a British government protection scheme, although he cautiously resumed public appearances after nine years in seclusion, maintaining his outspoken criticism of religious extremism overall.
“He could not be silenced by fear”
“We all depend on the storytelling, the power and the imagination of writers,” Dennis said. Rushdie “came out of hiding because he realized he wanted to play a role in the world we live in, defending those rights,” he said. “He couldn’t be silenced by fear and I think that point is something he will continue to do if, as we all hope, he survives.” The Writers Guild of Canada joins our international colleagues in deep concern about this attack. We hope for a speedy and full recovery for Mr. Rushdie. https://t.co/mnM2SNKBUD —@twuc Dennis said the attack is already backfiring its suspected intentions, given support from the international literary community, as well as activists and government officials, who cited Rushdie’s courage in his long-standing defense of free speech despite the risks to his own safety. “It brought everyone together to realize how precious and fragile our freedoms are and how important it is to talk about them,” Dennis said. The president of PEN Canada, an organization that defends writers’ freedom of expression, condemned the “savage attack” on their “friend and colleague,” Rushdie, who is a member. I was proud to welcome Salman Rushdie to Ontario 30 years ago. As a long-time supporter of PEN, I was delighted to join his friends in celebrating his courage. It is even more important today to support free expression and show our solidarity and support for Salman. pic.twitter.com/7nDaizQjV8 —@BobRae48 Canadian writer John Ralston Saul, who has known Rushdie since the 1990s, said the writer always knew someone could attack him, but chose to live publicly to speak out against those trying to silence free expression and discussion. “[Rushdie’s] The work and the whole life is a reminder of what the public writer’s life is really about,” he said. “This would be the worst possible time to back down or show any sense of being more careful with our words. We’re not really writers if we give in to these kinds of threats.” The defendant, Hadi Matar, was arrested after the attack at the Chautauqua Foundation, a nonprofit education and retreat center. Matar’s lawyer pleaded not guilty in a New York court on Saturday to charges of attempted murder and assault. Hadi Matar, 24, arrives for arraignment in Chautauqua County Court in Mayville, New York, on Saturday, accused of attacking Rushdie. (Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press) After the attack, some longtime visitors to the center questioned why there wasn’t tighter security for the event, given the threats against Rushdie and a bounty on his head that offered more than $3 million for whoever killed him. Saul, who spoke at the Chautauqua Foundation years before Rushdie’s attack, said it has an “open tradition” of debate, free expression and anti-violence that goes back 100 years. “It’s one of the freest places to exercise our belief in freedom,” he said. WATCHES | Witnesses describe the Rushdie attack:
Salman Rushdie’s attack ‘became so real, so fast’, witness says
Witnesses to the attack on Salman Rushdie on Friday in western New York recount how a man approached the stage at the Chautauqua Foundation where the author was to give a lecture, was attacked and later pinned down by members of the audience. Roland Gulliver, director of the Toronto International Writers Festival, tweeted Saturday that literary festivals and book events are “spaces for expression, to tell your stories with friendship, safety and respect.” “Seeing this so violently broken is incredibly shocking,” he wrote. Expressions of support also came from the political sphere, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemning the attack as a “cowardly … blow against freedom of expression”. A hospital where Rushdie is being treated is in Erie, Pa., on Saturday. (Jorge Ouzon/AFP/Getty Images) “No one should be threatened or harmed based on what they have written,” read a statement posted on Trudeau’s official Twitter account. “I wish him a speedy recovery.” Rushdie suffered liver damage and severed nerves in his hand and is likely to lose an eye as a result of the attack, the author’s agent, Andrew Whaley, said Friday night. A doctor who witnessed the attack and was among those who rushed to help described Rushdie’s injuries as “serious but recoverable”.
