Salman Rushdie attack suspect reveals he 'only read two pages' of Satanic Verses
18 August 2022, 13:16 | Updated: 18 August 2022, 18:38
The man accused of repeatedly stabbing Sir Salman Rushdie has said he had only read ‘a couple of pages’ of the author's novel The Satanic Verses.
Hadi Matar, 24, who has pleaded not guilty over the attack, gave an interview from behind bars to the New York Post but refused to reveal whether the fatwa on Sir Salman, issued by Iran’s leader in 1989, inspired his actions.
"I respect the Ayatollah. I think he's a great person. That's as far as I will say about that," he said.
Mata told the newspaper that he was “surprised” to hear that Sir Salman had survived the attack.
He again pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges on Thursday.
Sir Salman’s infamous controversial novel The Satanic Verses, was published in 1988 and caused outrage among some Muslims, who felt the content was blasphemous.
Sir Salman effectively went into hiding for several years following the book’s publication, but had told an interviewer two weeks before he was attacked that his life had become “very normal again”.
The 75-year-old author was set to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution, when the suspect stormed the stage and stabbed approximately 12 times, including in the face and neck.
Mata told the New York Post: "When I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess.
"I don't like the person. I don't think he's a very good person. I don't like him. I don't like him very much.
"He's someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their beliefs, the belief systems."
According to NBC News, a preliminary review of Mr Matar’s social media found he had sympathies for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard and Shia extremism.
Read more: James O’Brien moved by Ian McEwan words after brutal attack on Salman Rushdie
Mata’s mother, Silvana Fardos said earlier this week that she had disowned her son saying “I’m done with him, I have nothing to say to him.”
Sir Salman’s injuries have been described as ‘life changing’ and include a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm. The author has also sustained injuries to an eye.
Sir Rushdie’s family said earlier this week that despite his injuries, the author still had his “usual feisty and defiant sense of humour”.
