Salman Rushdie Testifies at Trial of Suspect Who Stabbed Him: 'I Was Screaming Because of the Pain'.
Salman Rushdie, the author of The Satanic Verses, provided chilling testimony at the trial of the man accused of brutally attacking him during a literary festival in New York state in 2022.
Hadi Matar, 27, from New Jersey, is facing charges of attempted murder and assault following the vicious stabbing of Rushdie during a public event in August 2022. The attack left the 77-year-old author permanently blind in his right eye and severely impaired the use of his right hand.
Rushdie was speaking at the historic Chautauqua Institution in western New York when Matar allegedly rushed the stage and attacked him, stabbing him multiple times in the neck, chest, and abdomen, as confirmed by New York State Police.
On the witness stand, Rushdie recalled the moment of the assault, explaining, “I was aware of this person rushing at me from my righthand side. I was struck by his eyes which seemed dark and ferocious to me." He initially thought he had been punched but quickly realized the severity of the situation when blood began to stain his clothes.
Rushdie described the chaotic moments of the attack, saying, “Everything happened very quickly. I was stabbed repeatedly, and most painfully in my eye.” He recalled trying to defend himself by raising his hand, but was stabbed through it. "I struggled to get away. I held up my hand in self-defense and was stabbed through that," Rushdie stated.
Despite his attempts to flee, he fell to the ground. "I was very badly injured and I couldn’t stand up any more," Rushdie continued. "I was screaming because of the pain."
Salman Rushdie and Padma Lakshmi
The assault took place in front of an audience of approximately 1,000 people. Rushdie's interviewer, Henry Reese, also sustained injuries during the attack.
Matar, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, is now standing trial in Mayville, New York, where proceedings began on February 10, 2025. District Attorney Jason Schmidt outlined the gruesome details of the attack, describing how Matar, wearing a mask, "appeared from the rear of the theater" and attacked Rushdie with speed and precision, stabbing him "over and over again."
Rushdie has faced death threats since 1989, following the publication of The Satanic Verses, which was condemned by some as blasphemous. Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's assassination, forcing the author into hiding for nearly a decade. In 1998, the Iranian government called off the fatwa, allowing Rushdie to return to a more public life. He moved to New York, where he became a staunch advocate for free speech.
In 2024, Rushdie wrote about the traumatic experience in his memoir Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder, reflecting on the attack and its aftermath.
Who is Salman Rushdie?
Salman Rushdie is a British-Indian novelist, born on June 19, 1947, in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. The only son of a businessman and a schoolteacher, Rushdie studied history at King's College, Cambridge. His novel The Satanic Verses (1988) sparked accusations of blasphemy against Islam, leading to a fatwa issued by Iran, which forced him into hiding for several years.
Rushdie’s early years were marked by an open and tolerant relationship with his devout Muslim grandfather, shaping his views on religion. His writing career began in 1975 with Grimus, a science fiction novel, followed by the highly acclaimed Midnight's Children (1981), which won the Booker Prize. His later works, including Shame (1983), solidified his place among the literary elite.
Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses attracted both critical praise and intense backlash, leading to a fatwa for his execution. Despite living under constant threat, he continued to write and, in 2012, released Joseph Anton: A Memoir, documenting his experiences during this period of danger and secrecy.
