Salman Rushdie: Admirer of Ayatollah Khomeini Says Arrested for Assassination Attempt

The arrested for the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie expresses his admiration for him Ayatollah Khomeinibut declined to say whether it was inspired by the controversial religious decree (fatfa) issued by Iran’s former supreme spiritual leader in 1989, in an interview with the New York Post.

Hadi Mattar says he had read “only a few pages” of Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses and argues that a Twitter post announcing the author’s visit to the Chotokwa Foundation gave him the idea to be at the event.

Rushdie, 75, was preparing to deliver a speech on artistic freedom at this institution of New York of USAlast Friday when, according to police, 24-year-old Mattar rushed the scene and stabbed the Indian-origin author.

Rushdie lived on for years after the release of The Satanic Verses in 1988, which caused an uproar in the Muslim world.with Khomeini issuing a fatfa calling for the assassination of the “blasphemous” author.

“I respect the ayatollah [Χομεϊνί]. I think he was a great man. I won’t say anything more about it.”Mattar said in a videotaped interview with the New York Post from the Chautauqua County Jail.

“I don’t really like him,” Mattar said afterward when asked about Rushdie. “He is someone who attacked Islam, the beliefs of Muslims”he claimed and noted that he has watched interviews of the author on YouTube.

Hadi Matar denied having contacts with the Revolutionary Guards in Iran.

The lawyer appointed by a court to handle Mattar’s defense said he was unaware of his client’s interview with the American newspaper. “I did not give permission for anyone to contact my client,” Nathaniel Barron told Reuters.

At his court appearance on Saturday, Hadi Mattar had pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault against Salman Rushdie, who is in a serious condition in hospital but is said to have escaped danger.