Hours after Salman Rushdie was brutally stabbed by 24-year-old Hadi Matar in western New York, several Pakistanis took to social media to celebrate the deadly attack. Senior Correspondent at Dawn News, Ali Waqar led the celebrations as he hailed the assailant as a ‘young freedom fighter’. He wrote, “Freedom of hate, Freedom of torture, Freedom of disgrace is not freedom of speech.”
“A person who hurt billion plus Muslims is a serious threat to humanity, not this young freedom fighter. Fighting for Ummah’s dignity,” the journalist concluded.
Another user named Harris appealed to Allah to give enough strength to Hadi Matar to send the author of ‘The Satanic Verses’ to hell.
Social media influencer Faysal Butt Rizvi wrote, “This Ghazi is proud of Muslim Ummah who single-handedly attacked Salman Rushdie. May Allah bless him.”
“Big News for ummah! A Ghazi today attacked Salman Rushdie. Rushdie is a shameful person who wrote blasphemous book against Islam. Well done you are the pride of Muslim Ummah”, wrote one Abdullah Iftikhar.
A man from Pakistan responds to the attempted murder of Sir Salman Rushdie.
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) August 13, 2022
Translation: “I’m a religious bigot who has no time for thoughtful logic or reason. I’m right because someone told me so.” pic.twitter.com/2TSYaGE9E6
One self-proclaimed advocate Habib Muhammad Khan wrote, “No one should have right to abuse sentiments of Muslim and get away with it. Good to see him getting attacked.”
“This is the young man who killed the great enemy of Islam, Salman Rushdie. Brother may God protect you,” rejoiced another Islamist Ubaid Jadoon.
Attack on Salman Rushdie
On Friday (August 12), Salman Rushdie was stabbed during an event at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. The man involved in the attack was identified as 24-year-old Hadi Matar. A resident of Fairview in New Jersey, Hadi jumped onto the stage and attacked the novelist with a knife.
The accused reportedly had a pass for the event where Rushdie was invited to deliver a lecture. The authorities also seized a backpack, belonging to the accused, from the crime scene. They claimed that the attacker might have been alone and have launched a probe to determine whether that’s the case.
As per a report by New York Times, the local police have sought help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for determining the background and motives of Hadi Matar. Rushdie’s agent Andrew Wylie informed that he is still in a critical state.
He added that Rushdie was being put on ventilator support and that he could not speak. “The news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed, and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” Wylie said.
The author of ‘The Satanic Verses’ was reportedly provided immediate medical attention by an audience member named Rita Landman. She informed that Salman Rushdie received multiple stab wounds, one to his neck and another to his abdomen.
