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Journalists, writers and celebrities reacted with shock and horror after author Salman Rushdie was attacked onstage at an event in New York state on Friday.
Rushdie was attacked as he was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York, according to witnesses. Police later said he had been taken to hospital with an apparent stab wound to the neck.
Rushdie’s writings, which many Muslims consider blasphemous, has led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s as Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, that called for Rushdie’s death.
Stephen King tweeted: “I hope Salman Rushdie is okay.”
“‘What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.’ – Salman Rushdie. Holding thoughts for you today,” Scott Simon, host of the Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR, tweeted, quoting Rushdie’s own words.
Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From and Daily Beast columnist, tweeted: “I was there 2 weeks ago giving a talk. It’s a lovely place with a fantastic, curious and welcoming community. This is shocking. I hope Salman Rushdie isn’t injured and can recover and heal quickly. How disgusting.”
He went on to add: “Unhinged men wanting to police the world through violence.
