Salman Rushdie Attacker Identified, as IRGC Makes Threat Against Trump, Bolton – Opinion

We reported that author Salman Rushdie was attacked in Chautauqua (New York) on Friday as he was about give a lecture. When he was standing on the podium, a black man rushed to him and started stabbing and beating his head.

This man was identified now as Hadi Matear (24), Fairview, New Jersey.

People in the crowd took him down and arrested him.

He had many Iranian connections on his Facebook, including photos of Qasem Andalusi and the Ayatollah. According to the NY Post, Matar made posts in support of Iran and its Revolutionary Guard, and in support of Shi’a extremism more broadly.

Rushdie suffered a double stab wound in his neck and abdomen. He was then airlifted from the airport to the hospital.

The doctor who was in the audience and attended to him on the stage, Dr. Martin Haskell, described the wounds as “serious but recoverable,” which is good news.

Henry Reese, the event moderator, and co-founder a non-profit that grants residencies in order to help writers under persecution was also attacked. Police said that Reese sustained a facial injury, was treated at a hospital and then released. Rushdie and Reese were scheduled to talk about the United States’ role as refuge for exile writers and artists.

A state trooper and a county sheriff’s deputy were assigned to Rushdie’s lecture, and state police said the trooper made the arrest. But after the attack, some longtime visitors to the center questioned why there wasn’t tighter security for the event, given the decades of threats against Rushdie and a bounty on his head offering more than $3 million for anyone who kills him.

The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared a fatwa in 1989, calling for Rushdie’s death for writing his book, “The Satanic Verses,” which the Ayatollah declared blasphemous. Iran’s present “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Khameini reminded everyone in 2019 the fatwa was still on.

There is currently a $3.3 million bounty on Rushdie’s head. It was the reason he went into cover for so many years. He had security but has lived in total security since then. He said that the only way you defeat terrorism is “by deciding not to be afraid.”

At least 45 people were killed in riots over the book, including 12 people in Rushdie’s hometown of Mumbai. The book’s Japanese translator, who was also stabbed to death in 1991, and the translator from Italy were both saved by knife attacks. In 1993, the book’s Norwegian publisher was shot three times and survived.

The IRGC also has acknowledged the attack and threatened both President Donald Trump and John Bolton “even if many years pass.”

Fatwa is more ancient than attacker.

Just a couple days ago we covered the arrest of an Iranian agent who planned to murder Bolton. Trump is also hated by the IRGC because he killed Qasem Solimani.

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