newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Iranian state media on Friday called writer Salman Rushdie an “apostate” after the Indian-born writer was stabbed before a speech in New York, accusing him of “blasphemous writing”.
Rushdie stabbed in the neck By the attackers before giving a speech at the Shautauqua Institute on Friday after living for more than 30 years under his death-calling fatwa issued by the Iranian Ayatollah in response to his book The Satanic Verse.
The Islamic Republic News Agency, which said Rushdie was “attacked with a knife,” called him an “apostate author.”
He also described “The Devil’s Verse” as “a novel that blasphemes Islam.”
The stabbing of SALMAN RUSHDIE comes 33 years after Iran issued a fatwa on his life.
Meanwhile, another regime-owned outlet, FARS News, also described him as an “apostate” and accused him of “insulting the Prophet of Islam (PBUH)” with “anti-religious content.”
“The Satanic Verses” was published in 1988 and sparked violent protests around the world over what Muslims considered blasphemous writing. The fatwa was published in his 1989. Rushdie was an outspoken advocate and a symbol of freedom of expression against religious extremism. But I wanted 24/7 security.
Nikki Haley Calls on Biden Administrators to Deny Iran Presidential Visas After Assassination Plot
“It is freedom of speech that allows us to be free people. And there are those who seek to silence dissent,” The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told Fox News Digital in a statement following the attack on Rushdie. “Mr Rushdie has long understood the need for free speech. He is one of its strongest advocates: ‘Free speech is everything and the ball game’.”
The Iranian regime supports the fatwa, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in 2019 that the fatwa is “based on the Scriptures of God and is as solid and irrevocable as the Scriptures of God.” Tweeted.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The attack comes days after the Justice Department revealed indictments against members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps for allegedly plotting to kill former national security adviser John Bolton. It is believed to be in retaliation for the killing of military leader Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.