Apparently not fatally as of this writing.
I have a huge rant in my head concerning religion that I will decline to present here.
Instead I will wish Mr. Rushdie well. May he continue to be a paragon of rational secularism.
Apparently not fatally as of this writing.
I have a huge rant in my head concerning religion that I will decline to present here.
Instead I will wish Mr. Rushdie well. May he continue to be a paragon of rational secularism.
Why the urge for a religious rant? I didn't see anything particularly religious in the article other than someone asking for prayers for his recovery.
I would guess the assumed motivation of the person who tried to kill him, given the whole history with his Satanic Verses book...
In reply to GameboyRMH :
Yes, that.
[edit] Admittedly assumption on my part, considering the amount of information currently available. However, it's a highly likely assumption.
I am honestly a bit surprised no one has gotten to him before now. His "sin" is rather old, but I am sure he is still on peoples radars (I suspect he has said offending things since the also of course), and people have been brutally killed for far less. He has always seemed to have a somewhat high profile, considering.
To be fair, you don't really need religion to be an extremist a-hole, but it certainly makes it easier for many. I would honestly also say, non-religious extremists do have a "religion" just not what people normally thing of as one (deity etc.)
Toyman! said:I didn't see anything particularly religious in the article other than someone asking for prayers for his recovery.
That article didn't even touch on it beyond a massively understated and overly vague reference to 'death threats'. Religious zealots have literally been calling for his murder since 1989. He's had numerous legitimate threats to his life, and spent a decade 'hiding' under police protection because of it. It's probably also the reason there was security as close at hand as they were, although obviously not close enough either.
Supposedly there's a $3M reward from the Iranian govt to anybody who does the deed and doesn't get caught and can prove they're the perp.
There seems to be a potential trend forming here, with enemies of Iran being targeted on US soil. Within the last week or so, apparently an attempt on John Bolton was foiled, as was another on a journalist (the name escapes me, but there was an editorial piece written by the target in the WSJ), and now this. Iran has few ways to directly target the US; these may be a manifestation of one of the few options available.
There was a Sheriff and deputy there as security. Just transferred from Uvalde apparently.
Sounds like he is on a ventilator and could loose an eye.
I guess now he will quite literally be the face of religious extremism.
He was giving a talk on how the US is a save haven for exiled writers and other artists under threat of persecution.
I certainly hope he keeps talking (I think that is very likely) and this gives him a much wider audience.
A few holes have been stabbed in his theory that the US is a safe haven. 
From the BBC's most recent reporting:
A review of Mr Matar's social media accounts has suggested he is sympathetic to the causes of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), NBC News reported.
The IRGC is a major military and political force in Iran - however, no link has been definitively established.
Mr Matar was born in the US to parents who had emigrated from Lebanon, a Lebanese official told the Associated Press news agency.
Seems to me a pretty good candidate for recruiting by Iranian intelligence: US-born (so no need to infiltrate) but not of Iranian descent, and politically sympathetic. No public evidence yet, so this is 100% speculative, but it certainly bears investigation.
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