Authors and friends rally and read for Salman Rushdie
Source: Associated Press/HILLEL ITALIE
NEW YORK (AP) — Friends and fellow authors spoke out on Salman Rushdie’s behalf during a rally Friday on the steps of the main branch of the New York Public Library, one week after he was attacked onstage in the western part of the state and hospitalized with stab wounds.
Rushdie’s condition has improved, and, according to his literary agent, he has been removed from a ventilator.
Jeffrey Eugenides, Tina Brown and Kiran Desai were among those who shared wishes for a full recovery, told stories of Rushdie as an inspiration and defender of free expression, and read passages from his books, essays and speeches, including from “The Satanic Verses,” the 1988 novel that was condemned by some Muslims as blasphemous.
Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a 1989 edict, a fatwa, calling for his death, but had traveled freely over the past two decades.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/salman-rushdie-entertainment-new-york-ruhollah-khomeini-7bb4ff2e498f52278773789c8fd3c94c