‘Why Didn’t I Fight?’ Salman Rushdie Recounts 2022 Stabbing Horror
New York: Salman Rushdie’s Memoir Tells His Journey to Healing After Near-Fatal Stabbing
Tehran denied any link with the attacker.
British-American author Salman Rushdie takes readers into the harrowing account of the near-fatal stabbing incident that resulted in severe injuries during a public event in New York in 2022. Rushdie, who has been a target of death threats since the controversial publication of his novel “The Satanic Verses” in 1988, shares his road to recovery in his latest memoir titled “Knife,” which will be available in stores starting Tuesday.
Rushdie, originally from India and now a naturalized American living in New York, became a symbol of free speech worldwide due to the backlash his highly debated novel received from Iran’s supreme leader. Despite years of remaining unharmed, an assailant armed with a knife attacked Rushdie while he was on stage at an arts gathering in a rural area of New York state. The author suffered multiple stab wounds to his neck and abdomen, resulting in the loss of his right eye.
In his memoir, Rushdie reflects, “Why didn’t I fight? Why didn’t I run? I just stood there like a pinata and let him smash me.” The author’s striking account sheds light on the courage and resilience he displayed even in the face of adversity, as he describes the incident as a mere probability, devoid of dramatism or dread.
The government of Tehran has denied any involvement in the attack, although Rushdie’s work has long been deemed as blasphemous by authorities. The attacker, a 24-year-old individual who pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, asserted that he had only read two pages of “The Satanic Verses” but believed that Rushdie had “attacked Islam,” according to the alleged attacker’s interview with the New York Post.
‘A Master Storyteller Unveiled’
Salman Rushdie’s near-fatal encounter has stoked the curiosity of many who have been anticipating the moment when his assailants would finally catch up with him. Suzanne Nossel, chief executive of PEN America, an organization dedicated to the protection of free speech, highlights Rushdie’s storytelling prowess, saying, “A master storyteller, Salman has held this narrative close until now, leaving us to marvel from a distance at his courage and resilience.”
The author had experienced a premonition days before the attack, dreaming of being stabbed in an amphitheater. Despite briefly contemplating not attending the event, Rushdie dismissed it as a mere dream. The memoir also touches on the author’s intention to use the payment he would receive for the event as funds for home repairs.
Rushdie had been invited to discuss the protection of writers who face threats, a topic that turned ironically sour during the event. “It just turned out not to be a safe space for me,” he admits in his interview with the unidentified interviewer.
The aftermath of the attack has left Rushdie plagued by nightmares, as revealed in his memoir.
From Controversy to Recognition
Salman Rushdie, widely known for his Booker Prize-winning novel “Midnight’s Children” (1981), which explores India’s post-independence struggles, was thrust into the spotlight with “The Satanic Verses,” acquiring both admiration and disfavor.
As an atheist with non-practicing Muslim parents, Rushdie was forced into hiding and received police protection in the United Kingdom due to the assassination attempts on his translators and publishers. Only after Iran ceased its support for Rushdie’s assassination was he able to gradually reclaim a public life in the late 1990s.
Rising from the shadows, Rushdie’s presence extended beyond the literary realms. He ventured into the international party circuit and even made cameo appearances in popular culture, featuring in films like “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and the US sitcom “Seinfeld.”
Throughout his life, Rushdie has been married five times and is a proud parent of two children. Remarkably, the author released a novel, “Victory City” (2023), even in the wake of the stabbing incident.
Reflecting on his transformative journey, Rushdie revisited the Chautauqua Institution where the attack took place, signaling a closure. He shares, “As we stood there in the stillness, I realized that a burden had lifted from me somehow, and the best word I could find for what I was feeling was lightness.”
(The news article is based on a syndicated feed and has been edited for our publication. The original version was not written by our staff)
