# Salman Rushdie attacked onstage - Breaking news {2022-08-12} **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [August 12, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564 "2022-08-12T15:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/1 "2022-08-12T15:49:26Z")
Rushdie was speaking a short time ago in New York when a man in black rushed the stage and began punching or stabbing him. Reports are not clear if he was injured or the extent of injuries. [Link to NYT](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/business/salman-rushdie-attacked.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkQFUaASbfQMMmqBCdnr_Uybg5j3m7NjWOSTpDwqEcH5SJ8ETAaexje943lXy9deN2DYUOFrZ03_MNeAtkURWpqZ-J38lYeSg_89_sG29qhMqIAO82qnq7M2Lpbesmz-Cy5RzWOTHhULfNkiF0fHYTqpRicF2h3HwI1_2FRrYzgo8iqK9nUpNqRj4AZz2Itu3rCHh9PNaAZxLd6WomSr0TGGGTzZPHteV2IEgFAknGTXh__W829NhYXdsQN6v1JBQgE9HsjEGzMFGz5i_BRI63eMkphw&referringSource=articleShare) ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/2 "2022-08-12T16:11:11Z")
One article says that police have confirmed that there was a stabbing. But that same article also says that the assailant has been reprimanded, so I’m not sure if I trust them. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/3 "2022-08-12T16:14:16Z")
Was he also given _the comfy chair_? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/4 "2022-08-12T16:14:29Z")
This is so sad. I hope he recovers quickly and completely. It is just incredible how long hate lasts. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/5 "2022-08-12T16:14:54Z")
The NYT article linked to above now says that he has multiple stab wounds, at least one to the neck, but he’s alive and has been transported to a local hospital by helicopter. ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/6 "2022-08-12T16:17:40Z")
Pulling for Salman. I always feel slightly more intelligent whenever I have watched him on TV. Some bastards on this Earth just can’t let go of a grudge (at least, I am assuming). ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/7 "2022-08-12T16:20:10Z")
Horrific, hope he fully recovers. He always knew this was a possibility. We should wait to hear the details of course but hard to look past the likelihood of religiously inspired violence. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/8 "2022-08-12T16:22:22Z")
I think even before we know the end point of this it is worth reminding ourselves of exactly why he does what he does and why he thinks it is worth that risk. [Rushdie and Hitchens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBwDmepta7g). ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/9 "2022-08-12T16:22:31Z")
Fuck. One of my favorite authors. I hope he pulls through okay. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/10 "2022-08-12T18:21:56Z")
Younger folks probably don’t recall this incident: > **[Satanic Verses controversy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_controversy)** > > The Satanic Verses controversy, also known as the Rushdie Affair, was a controversy sparked by the 1988 publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. It centered on the novel's references to the Satanic Verses of the Quran, and came to include a larger debate about censorship and religious violence. It included numerous killings, attempted killings (including against Rushdie himself), and bombings by perpetrators who supported Islam. > The affair had a notable impact on geopolitics ... My dad was pretty pessimistic at the time. He had never heard of Rushdie, but he said that with Iran having issued a fatwa calling for Muslims to kill Rushdie, Rushdie would have to watch his back for the rest of his life, even if Iran rescinded that fatwa. At present the motives of Rushdie’s attacker aren’t known, but if I had to place a bet, I’d bet my dad was right. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/11 "2022-08-12T18:38:39Z")
The NYT link above has an update with Rushdie’s agent David Wylie saying the author is in surgery. He didn’t give an update on his condition. Reading some of the witness accounts make me seriously concerned about the extent of his injuries. From the link in the OP: > Roger Warner of Cleveland, Ohio, was sitting on the front row at the amphitheater with his wife when Rushdie was attacked. Mr. Warner said he saw a tall, slender man leap onto the stage from the left side and begin attacking Salman Rushdie. He thought the man had punched Rushdie three or four times in the face. Then he saw the blood. “He was covered with blood and there was blood running down onto the floor,” Mr. Warner said. “I just saw blood all around his eyes and running down his cheek.” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/12 "2022-08-12T18:50:59Z")
Holding him in the light and hoping for a speedy and completel recovery. I loved _Midnight’s Children_. I was thinking about it again recently, because I just read _A Suitable Boy_. I started _The Satanic Verses_, but I just couldn’t get into it and never finished it. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/13 "2022-08-12T21:09:33Z")
Press conference being streamed on YouTube [here.](https://twitter.com/mjdbennett/status/1558197944645476354?s=20&t=l4Se0ZNrBedSQc98kKO2eQ) ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/14 "2022-08-12T22:25:02Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Reading some of the witness accounts make me seriously concerned about the extent of his injuries. Heads and faces bleed a _lot_. While of course the attack was serious, I wouldn’t get too worried based on reports of a lot of blood. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/15 "2022-08-12T22:47:06Z")
Possibly stabbed in the abdomen as well. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/16 "2022-08-12T23:12:41Z")
From the NYT update: > [@](#): > > Rushdie’s agent, Andrew Wylie, sent an update on his condition shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, saying Mr. Rushdie was on a ventilator and could not speak. “The news is not good," he said. “Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged.” ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/17 "2022-08-12T23:21:30Z")
Darn. That is not what I wanted to hear. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/18 "2022-08-13T00:16:08Z")
This is terrible news. May Salman make a quick recovery I also hope that the assailant is prosecuted to the full extent of the law treating this as a hate crime. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/19 "2022-08-13T01:00:57Z")
From the _Times_ story, one of life’s bitter ironies. “Mr. Rushdie was scheduled to give a talk about the United States as a safe haven for exiled writers.” ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564/20 "2022-08-13T01:58:32Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > From the NYT update: > > > [@](#): > > > > Rushdie’s agent, Andrew Wylie, sent an update on his condition shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, saying Mr. Rushdie was on a ventilator and could not speak. “The news is not good," he said. “Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged.” It sounds like he’ll live, and still be able to see (albeit with only one eye) and speak (once the ventilator is removed). I hope that’s enough for him to find the remainder of his life fulfilling. I also hope that he lives many more years before dying a peaceful and natural death - the biggest middle finger possible toward the anti-intellectual brutes who sought to extinguish him before his time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salman-rushdie-attacked-onstage-breaking-news-2022-08-12/969564.md?page=2)