Even before the big Rushdie trial starts, the rearguard action is already underway. At the end of October, publisher Pinguin Random House announced that it will release Salman Rushdie’s new book in April: Knife, a reflection after an attempted murder. Not fiction, but the writer’s account of how he has lived with the fear of an assassination attempt for more than thirty years, culminating in the 2022 attack in which he lost an eye.
On August 2, 2022, British/American author Salman Rushdie (born in India) was scheduled to give a lecture at the Chatauqua Institution in New York. As Ralph Henry Reese introduced the writer, a man jumped onto the stage. First he stabbed Reese with a knife and then he attacked Rushdie. He suffered three stab wounds in the neck, four in the stomach and one in the right eye. Members of the public were able to catch the attacker and hold him until police arrived. Rushdie and Reese received first aid from a doctor in the room. Reese’s facial injury was not too bad. Salman Rushdie was in worse shape. He would eventually lose the sight of his right eye and some control of his hands.
The attacker was identified as Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old New Yorker with dual citizenship: American/Lebanese. His mother told CNN that her son had changed dramatically after visiting his father in Lebanon. “He suddenly became very withdrawn.”
A few days after Hadi Matar was arrested, the newspaper was released New York Post interview him in his cell. Matar said he was a supporter of former Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa (legal opinion) in 1989 calling on Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie. Rushdie had just published his bestseller The Satanic Verses published, containing the controversial passage in which the prophet Mohammed allows the devil to whisper verses to him about three beautiful goddesses. To the New York Post Matar said that he was only a few pages in The Satanic Verses had read.
So now Rushdie discusses the incident in his new book. “I wrote it out of necessity: a way to gain control over what happened and to respond to violence with art,” the writer said.
When that news broke, attorney Nathaniel Barone asked to read the book. He considers this necessary to properly defend his client Hadi Matar (25), who is accused of attempted murder. Rushdie and his publisher refused to respond to that question, because “the book is intellectual property, we should not hand it over.” The public prosecutor followed them in this.
Also release all notes
But now Judge David Foley has decided differently. Matar and his team are allowed to read the book before the trial. Even worse: Salman Rushdie must also provide access to all the notes and conversations he had for his book. The book won’t be released until April: Matar and his lawyers can wait until then, or they can request the manuscript and all notes now. Matar’s lawyer wants option two, but is still consulting with his client. In any case, the trial that would start on Monday with the composition of the jury has been postponed. But the charge remains the same: attempted murder.
When he appeared in court the day after the interview, Matar denied the charge of attempted murder. To this day he maintains his innocence. Despite the fact that about a hundred witnesses saw his knife attack in the audience. Matar’s lawyer says his client has the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
It is now unclear when the process will actually start. If the jury finds Matar guilty, he faces 25 years in prison for the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie and a further 7 years for the attack on Ralph Henry Reese.