Conservative Iranian media “Praise for brave and obedient” suspect
The reaction of the 75-year-old Salman Rushdi, the author of the novel ‘Devil’s Poem’, which sparked controversy for blasphemy against Islam, was mixed in the West and Iran.
While Western leaders criticized violence against ‘freedom of expression’ as unjustifiable, in Iran, some conservative media supported the suspect in the silence of the government.
According to foreign media such as Archyde.com, AP, and AFP, the UN said on the 13th (local time) that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by the incident and emphasized that freedom of expression and opinion should not be retaliated with violence.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also called the incident “a denunciable attack” in a statement and said the administration wished Joe Biden a speedy recovery.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Rushdie “embodied freedom” and that “his struggle is ours and is universal.”
In January 2015, the French weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo, which used a cartoon about the Islamic prophet Muhammad as the subject of a cartoon and was shot and killed by Islamic extremists, commented that “the act cannot be justified for any reason.”
The Iranian government has not yet responded to the incident.
However, Iran’s leading conservative newspaper Kaihan commented, “I salute the renegade and the brave and obedient who attacked the demon Rushdi in New York.”
He also claimed, “The hand of the one who scratched the neck of the enemy of God deserves a kiss.”
Kaihan is a media that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appoints editorial chief.
Another daily newspaper ‘Korasan’ drew a headline in relation to this case saying, “The devil is heading to hell.”
‘Devil’ is interpreted as referring to Rushdi.
However, there are some voices of concern within Iran, foreign media reported.
“This incident will only deepen Iran’s isolation,” former Iranian diplomat Masala Sepatzadeh told The Associated Press.
Earlier, on the morning of the previous day, Rushdie was taken to the hospital after being stabbed in the neck and abdomen by a knife wielded by a man who rushed onto the stage just before giving a lecture in New York State, USA.
He is currently dependent on a ventilator.
The suspect is Hardy Matar, 24, who lives in Fairview, New Jersey, USA.
Although the motive for the crime has not yet been confirmed, the dominant analysis is that it has nothing to do with the circumstances in which Rushdie has been threatened with personal life for a long time.
Rushdi has been criticized by Muslims for his disrespectful portrayal of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in relation to his 1988 novel The Devil’s Poem.
The following year, in 1989, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, promulgated a ‘fatwa’ (edict according to Islamic law) ordering the executions of Rushdi and those involved in publishing.
/yunhap news