Salman Rushdie attack video goes viral: In a turn of unexpected events, controversial author Salman Rushdie, whose fourth book 'The Satanic Verses' brought him to notoriety in 1988 was stabbed while participating in an event in New York state. Rushdie, 75, was speaking at an event of the Chautauqua Institution when a man ran onto the stage and appeared to have punched or stabbed him and his interlocutor.
Amid gasps of horror from the audience, a few people ran onstage and managed to restrain the assailant, while others rushed to the aid of the author who had collapsed on the stage. Videos of Salman Rushdie's stabbing have gone viral on social media. Netizens are in shock and can't fathom what happened in a public event on Saturday. There were several who tweeted saying that they may not agree with what Rushdie says but stabbing someone on stage during a public event is not acceptable. some also called it an attack on freedom of speech.
"I am appalled to hear about the horrific attack on author #SalmanRushdie. The civilized world should never ever tolerate acts of terrorism against freedom of thought and expression," a tweet reads.
"This is so horrific. We are screaming for free speech, and then this happens. My prayers goes out to sir Salman Rushdie and his family. #SalmanRushdie," said another one.
A third one noted, This is horrific and impossible to take in. #SalmanRushdie fought against threats and intimidation all his life. He always stood up against those who tried to destroy freedom of expression."
Trigger Warning: The following article contains sensitive images and videos that may be traumatizing/offensive/disturbing to some audiences.
For the unversed, following the publication in 1989 of his novel, "Satanic Verses", which some Muslims considered blasphemous, the then Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death. Various Iranian organisations put rewards of more than $3 million for killing the 75-year-old India-born writer.
Rushdie went underground with British government protection for several years and moved to the US in 2000 and has since been in public.
He escaped an assassination attempt in 1989 when a bomb went off at a London hotel where he was thought to be staying and demolished two floors of the building.
The Mujahidin of Islam group claimed responsibility for the attack. Al Qaeda also put him on its hit list along with several literary and media figures it claimed insulted Islam.
