The Latest Breaking News from Salman Rushdie

The Satanic Verses author cannot speak and the nerves in his arm are severed, his agent said

After Salman Rushdie was attacked as he began a lecture Friday in western New York, it was a potent reminder that an Islamic leader had issued a high-profile edict calling for the writer’s death in reaction to his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses.”

The suspect has apparently just been identified as Hadi Matar; the N.Y. Sun (Joe Marino & Evan Simko-Bednarski) reports, A New Jersey man with sympathies toward the Iranian government was arrested and accused of stabbing famed novelist Salman Rushdie on Friday, according to law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation….…

The Satanic Verses novelist Sir Salman Rushdie's alleged attacker has reportedly been identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar, from Fairview, New Jersey, by three law enforcement sources

Author spent years in hiding after a ‘fatwa’ was issued by the Iranian supreme leader in 1988

Arts event interrupted by screams as people rushed to render aid to the novelist and subdue his assailant

The author was stabbed in the neck while on stage at a literary event, according to New York Police

Rushdie was stabbed on stage just before he was about to give a lecture at a literary festival in New York state.

His book was banned in 45 Islamic countries, with hundreds of British Muslims endorsing the death sentence.