Salman Rushdie, author condemned to death in 1989 over novel, stabbed in New York

Salman Rushdie, a renowned author who has received death threats over his writings, has been stabbed in the United States.

Rushdie, author of the controversial novel, The Satanic Verses, was attacked while he was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York.

A man was said to have approached the author on the stage and attacked him in what appeared to be ‘punches or stabs”.

David Johnson, a journalist at WPXI-TV, in a post on his Facebook page, said he witnessed the incident.

“I just witnessed author Salman Rushdie being attacked on stage at the Chautauqua Institution amphitheater. He had just sat down for his talk when a man rushed the stage and attacked him—punching or stabbing him,” he wrote.

“The attacker was immediately subdued. We’re waiting to hear Rushdie’s condition.

“I’ve been coming here for 31 years, and this is obviously the most shocking thing I’ve witnessed here. CHQ is one of the most peaceful places you’ll ever see.

“We’re praying for Rushdie’s complete recovery.”

Meanwhile, according to Associated Press, the New York police said the author, who has now been transferred to a medical facility, was stabbed.

The Satanic Verses, a book that stirred much controversy after it was published in 1988, resulted in Rushdie receiving death threats for his works.

The Satanic Verses is a novel based on imaginary reality, and it challenges some Islamic beliefs.

In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini, supreme leader of Iran at the time, issued a fatwa (an Islamic religious decree) ordering the killing of Rushdie, his editor, and publishers.

The decree led the author to go into hiding for years.

The publication of the book resulted in violent protests in Pakistan, while bomb explosions — said to be linked to the novel — were targeted at bookstores in Britain.

Although the government of Iran — after the Khomeini administration —  said it was no longer in support of the killing of Rushdie, as of 2016, a bounty of over $3 million was said to have been raised for anyone who could kill him.