The venue where renowned author Salman Rushdie -- whose controversial work has triggered death threats -- was stabbed Friday had rejected previous recommendations to toughen security measures, two sources told CNN
Rushdie, 75, was stabbed at least twice on stage at the Chautauqua Institution before he was slated to give a lecture, New York state police said Friday. He was airlifted to a hospital in northwestern Pennsylvania and underwent surgery, a Pennsylvania police official said. Later in the day, Rushdie was put on a ventilator and was unable to speak, his agent, Andrew Wylie, told The New York Times. He will likely lose an eye, Wylie said.
But it was his fourth novel"The Satanic Verses," that drew the greatest scrutiny as some Muslims found the book to be sacrilegious, and its publication in 1988 sparked public demonstrations. The late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who described the book as an insult to Islam and Prophet Mohammed, issued a religious decree, or fatwa, calling for Rushdie's death in 1989.
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‘Satanic Verses’ author Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage in New YorkSalman Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked Friday as he was about to give a lecture in western New York.
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Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage in New YorkA reporter witnessed a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced.
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Author Salman Rushdie Attacked on Stage During a Lecture in New YorkAn Associated Press reporter witnessed a man storm the stage Friday at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced.
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Author Salman Rushdie airlifted to hospital after attack on stageThe attack was at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, in southwestern New York.
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Author Salman Rushdie on Ventilator, Likely to Lose Eye After Attack, Agent SaysHis agent, Andrew Wylie, said the writer was on a ventilator Friday evening, with a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye he was likely to lose.
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