The Imam Khomeini Iranian Foundation has promised to reward the man who attempted to assassinate writer Salman Rushdie. According to Reuters, citing Iranian television, as a reward, he will be presented with a plot of agricultural land of 1,000 square meters. m (0.1 ha).
“We sincerely thank for the courageous act of the young American who made Muslims happy by depriving Rushdie of an eye and a hand,” Mohammad Ismail Zarei, secretary of the foundation, said, calling the writer a “living dead man.” Zarei also noted that both the attacker himself and his legal representative can receive the award.
Indian-born British writer Salman Rushdie, 75, was attacked while speaking at a New York City literary event in August 2022. Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old Shia Muslim from New Jersey, stabbed the writer several times. Rushdie survived, but lost an eye and was also paralyzed in his arm. The attacker was arrested on the spot.
Salman Rushdie comes from an Indian Muslim family. In 1988, he published the novel The Satanic Verses, which was considered blasphemous in the Islamic world. Shortly thereafter, Iran's then leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's assassination.