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Rushdie was regarding to speak regarding the United States’ role as a safe haven for persecuted writers minutes before he was attacked
The author’s agent Salman Rushdie said that the writer “put his hand on the first road to recovery”, but indicated that the road to recovery will be long.
The 75-year-old was attacked while speaking at a seminar in New York and was in critical condition.
Author Salman Rushdie has been subjected to death threats for many years since his book “The Satanic Verses” was published in 1988.
The accused in the attack pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder on Saturday and was remanded in custody without bail.
“The ventilator has lifted Rushdie, which means he has begun the road to recovery,” said Andrew Wylie, the British-American author’s agent.
Hadi Matar, 24, was accused of storming the podium and stabbing Rushdie ten times in the face, neck and abdomen.
Following the attack, Willey said Mr. Rushdie had suffered a nerve cut in his arm, damage to his liver, and likely to lose an eye.
Before the attack on him, Salman Rushdie was scheduled to speak regarding the role the United States played as a safe haven for persecuted writers.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden issued a statement last Saturday expressing “deep shock and regret that this attack occurred,” and that “Rushdie expresses basic universal ideals.”
The novelist was forced into hiding for nearly ten years following The Satanic Verses was published in 1988. Many Muslims reacted angrily to him, arguing that depicting the Prophet Muhammad was a serious affront to their faith.
The Satanic Verses novel by Salman Rushdie
He faced death threats and the then Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s assassination, placing a $3 million reward on the author’s head.
The fatwa remains active, and although the Iranian government has distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree, a semi-official Iranian religious establishment added another $500,000 to the reward in 2012.
Hadi Matar, suspected of stabbing Salman Rushdie, was born in the United States to parents who immigrated from Lebanon, a Lebanese official told media.
A review of Matar’s accounts on social media suggests that he is sympathetic to the issues of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
However, no connection was discovered between the accused and the IRGC, which is a military, political and economic force close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials in Iran. He added, “The road to recovery will be long because the injuries are serious, but the situation is starting to take the right direction.”