Hadi Matar was convicted on federal terrorism charges Wednesday for the 2022 stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, who had faced a decades-old threat over his novel “The Satanic Verses.”
A jury found Matar guilty of multiple charges, including engaging in an act of transnational terrorism. He is currently serving a 25-year sentence in New York state prison for attempted murder related to the attack, which occurred in August 2022. The federal conviction carries a potential life sentence.
Rushdie was preparing to speak on writers’ safety when Matar attacked him on stage, slashing him 15 times. The author sustained severe injuries, including the loss of sight in his right eye.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Matar was motivated by a 1989 fatwa issued by the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, which called for Rushdie’s death due to his novel “The Satanic Verses.” Matar’s defense attorney contended that the prosecution failed to provide evidence of Matar's state of mind.
Matar declined to testify. Rushdie, however, addressed the jury, stating, “I can’t say what his ambitions or his aim was, but the wounds were dispersed across my body.”
“The Satanic Verses,” published in 1988, drew criticism and protests in the Muslim world, with some viewing it as blasphemous. The controversy surrounding the book led to violence over the years, including riots and attacks on individuals associated with it. Rushdie, who has stated the controversial passages were part of a dream sequence, went into hiding for years before gradually re-emerging publicly.
While Iran’s government had distanced itself from Khomeini’s fatwa in 1998, it was never officially rescinded. In 2017, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khomeini's successor, indicated the religious edict remained in effect, and an Iranian foundation has offered a bounty for Rushdie’s killing.
Prosecutors presented evidence from messaging apps that showed Matar repeatedly discussing the fatwa with contacts in 2021 and 2022. The messages indicated Matar's anger that Rushdie had allegedly attacked Islam and that his survival emboldened others to insult the faith. Matar also alluded to comments made by the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Matar, a U.S. citizen also holding Lebanese citizenship, reportedly showed support for Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization based in Lebanon, according to photos found in his New Jersey bedroom and on his computer. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch stated in his opening remarks that Matar aimed to fulfill the fatwa and “wanted everyone to know he was doing this for Hezbollah.”
Evidence from electronic chats suggested Matar's progression from wanting to “expose” Rushdie to planning his death. A private note attributed to Matar read, “We need to kill him ASAP,” with the prosecutor suggesting Matar framed the planned killing as a holy war, or jihad. By the spring of 2022, Matar had reportedly identified Rushdie's location and was tracking his public appearances, ultimately noting his scheduled talk at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York.
Matar climbed onto the stage behind Rushdie as he was being introduced and proceeded to stab him. Spectators and another speaker, Henry Reese, intervened to assist Rushdie. Law enforcement officers, who were present at the event, arrested Matar after civilians subdued him.
Rushdie published a memoir in 2024 detailing the attack and released a new fictional work, “The Eleventh Hour,” last year. He was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II and received a Dayton Literary Peace Prize lifetime achievement award in November.