Author Salman Rushdie has been under a fatwa issued in 1989 by the late Ayatollah Khomeini after Rushdie wrote his 1988 The Satanic Verses (which I've never read). Fatwas take many forms; this particular one explicitly called for Rushdie's execution as a response to perceived blasphemy against Muhammad. Rushdie has lived a life in hiding ever since, moving from place to place and surrounded by a coterie of security personnel. He still leads a public life, though, appearing onstage to give speeches now and then.
It was during a speech on Friday, August 12, 2002, east-coast time, that Rushdie was attacked by 24-year-old Hadi Matar of New Jersey—a pro-Shia, pro-Iran Muslim. Rushdie was wounded in one eye, suffered nerve damage in one arm, and had his liver perforated. According to the latest news, he is alive and on a ventilator. I have no idea how extensive the liver damage is, but I'm sure there will be updates. I have to wonder what Rushdie's security personnel were doing at the time of the attack. Picking their noses?
In a weird linguistic coincidence, matar is the Spanish verb "to kill." It's where the term matador (killer) comes from. Once again, another kind gesture from the religion of peace.
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