Sir Salman Rushdie has said his “overwhelming feeling is gratitude” in his first interview since he was repeatedly stabbed last year during a literary event in New York. The 75-year-old Indian-born British author suffered severe life-changing injuries, including losing sight in one eye, following the violent attack which occurred ahead of him delivering a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in August.
The incident was not the first time Sir Salman’s life has come under threat as in 1989 Iran’s former ruler Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. In a new interview with The New Yorker, which is accompanied by a picture of the author, Sir Salman reflected on the support he received from first responders during the “colossal attack” and following the event.
He said: “It’s very nice that everybody was so moved by this, you know? I had never thought about how people would react if I was assassinated, or almost assassinated.”
