Meanwhile, Rushdie’s attacker himself says he did it because Rushdie “attacked Islam.”
“Salman Rushdie attacker Hadi Matar indicted on terrorism charges,” AFP, July 25, 2024:
The man accused of trying to kill the author Salman Rushdie has been charged with terrorism for allegedly acting on behalf of Hezbollah, according to documents unsealed Wednesday.
This is the first time the United States has so clearly singled out Lebanon’s Iranian-backed group over the attack on Rushdie.
Hadi Matar, a 26-year-old American of Lebanese descent, was already charged by the state of New York for the 2022 stabbing attack.
He has now been indicted by a grand jury on three counts that include attempting to provide material to support a foreign terrorist organization, according to the indictment dated July 17 but not unsealed until now.
In August 2022 Rushdie, now 77, lost his sight in his right eye after the attack by a knife-wielding assailant who jumped on stage at an arts gathering in New York state. Rushdie was stabbed about 10 times….
“The defendant attempted to carry out a fatwa endorsed by Hezbollah that called for the death of Salman Rushdie,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray….
Matar has told the New York Post newspaper that he had only read two pages of Rushdie’s novel but believed he had “attacked Islam.”