Salman Rushdie is back. After he was attacked last year in New York at a lecture and a complicated stay in the hospital, the writer attended the annual gala of PEN America.
In his first public appearance since he was stabbed, Rushdie was honored with the PEN Centenary Courage Award.
It was an emotional return to the stage for PEN America's former president—introduced by @ayadakhtar as "our beloved Salman Rushdie"—who for decades has been a tireless defender of persecuted writers & the freedom to write while himself living under a death threat for his writing pic.twitter.com/HTzW0SQyPr
— PEN America (@PENamerica) May 19, 2023
"It’s nice to be back, as opposed to not being back, which was also a possibility. I am glad the dice rolled this way," said the author of The Satanic Verses after he was given a standing ovation from the hundreds of attendees at the American Museum of Natural History. He also thanked those who helped him during his recovery and said that "the struggle goes on."
Terror must not terrorize us. Violence must not deter us. La lutte continue. La lutta continua. The struggle goes on.
Target of terrorism
Rushdie had been the target of terrorism since Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death sentence against him in 1989, for considering his book The Satanic Verses as blasphemous. The Iranian leader had even offered $3 million to anyone who could assassinate him.
The accused attacker, Hadi Matar, pleaded not guilty. According to previously released information, Matar defended the Iranian regime, the Revolutionary Guard and Shiite extremism on social media. The trial, which is currently underway, is expected to confirm the motives behind the attack. Meanwhile, the alleged attacker remains in prison.
