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Taslima Nasreen on Salman Rushdie Attack: Critics of Islam Will Be Killed Until The Religion Is Reformed

Salman Rushdie, whose novel “The Satanic Verses” drew death threats from Iran’s leader in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen Friday by Hadi Matar, who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York.

Updated: August 13, 2022 12:08 PM IST

By India.com News Desk | Edited by Surabhi Shaurya

Taslima Nasreen on Salman Rushdie Attack: Critics of Islam Will Be Killed Until...
Taslima Nasreen on Salman Rushdie Attack: Critics of Islam Will Be Killed Until...

New Delhi: After author Salman Rushdie was stabbed on Friday, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen made a strong statement saying that critics of Islam will continue to be killed until the religion is reformed. “Critics of Islam were first killed in the 7th century. They still get killed in the 21st century. They will continue to be killed until Islam is reformed, free speech is allowed, violence is denounced, the breeding ground for extremism is demolished, no book is considered holy”, tweeted the exiled Bangladeshi author.

In another tweet, she asserted that the Facebook account of Hadi Matar, the man who stabbed the Booker prize winner, featured images of Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. For the unversed, Khomeini in 1989 had issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie following his controversial novel The Satanic Verses. Numerous killings and bombings resulted in a response to the novel.

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’24-year-old Iranian-American Hadi Matar attacked Rushdie. Hadi Matar’s facebook account featured images of Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a fatwa against Rusdhie in 1989, and his successor Ayatollah Khamenei. You can now guess the motive of the attack”, tweeted the fiery author.

The Satanic Verses Controversy

Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses” drew death threats from Iran’s leader in the 1980s. The title The Satanic Verses immediately sparked vehement protest against Rushdie’s book. The title refers to a legend of the Islamic Prophet Mohammad, when a few verses were supposedly spoken by him as part of the Qur’an, and then withdrawn on the grounds that the devil had sent them to deceive Mohammad into thinking they came from God. These “Satanic Verses” are said to have been revealed in between verses twenty and twenty-one in surah An-Najim of the Qur’an and by accounts from Tabari, but are seldom mentioned in the first biography of Mohammad by Ibn Ishaq. The verses also appear in other accounts of the prophet’s life.

True Muslims Attack Critics of Islam

Earlier on Friday, reacting strongly to the attack on Rushdie, Taslima, tweeted “True Muslims” follow their holy script religiously. And they attack the critics of Islam. Fake Muslims believe in humanity and they are against violence. We want fake Muslims to grow.”

“I just learned that Salman Rushdie was attacked in New York. I am really shocked. I never thought it would happen. He has been living in the West, and he has been protected since 1989. If he is attacked, anyone who is critical of Islam can be attacked. I am worried.

Who is Taslima Nasreen?

  • Taslima Nasrin had to leave Bangladesh in 1994 in the wake of death threat by fundamentalist groups for her alleged anti-Islamic views. She is now a citizen of Sweden.
  • She has been getting Indian visa on a continuous basis since 2004. She had been living in exile since 1994 and has lived in the US, Europe and India in the last two decades.
  • However, on many occasions she had expressed her wish to live in India permanently, especially in Kolkata.
  • The writer had to leave Kolkata in 2007 following violent street protests by a section of Muslims against her works.
  • Taslima, a staunch critic of Islam, faces threats from radical Muslim groups for her novel Lajja.
  • Multiple fatwas have also been issued against the fiery writer as she has criticised Islam in many of her books.

Salman Rushdie Attacked: What We Know so Far

  • Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and abdomen Friday by a man who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York.
  • Rushdie, 75, was flown to a hospital and underwent surgery.
  • His agent, Andrew Wylie, said the writer was on a ventilator, with a damaged liver, severed nerves in his arm and an eye he was likely to lose.
  • Police identified the attacker as Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey.
  • He was arrested at the scene and was awaiting arraignment. Matar was born a decade after “The Satanic Verses” was published.
  • The motive for the attack was unclear, State Police Maj. Eugene Staniszewski said.

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