Salman Rushdie's attacker 'surprised' he survived stabbing

Days after fatally stabbing author Salman Rushdie, the attacker speaks out. The New Jersey resident expressed his astonishment that the author had lived through the assault. Rushdie was referred to as someone who opposed Islam by the assailant Hadi Matar. While imprisoned, the 24-year-old assailant revealed everything in an exclusive interview with The New York Post. Salman Rushdie, an author of Indian descent, was stabbed by Hadi Matar on August 12 while he was at a gathering in western New York. The attacker also revealed to The New York Post his attack strategy. Since Iran's then-leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, in 1989 calling for Sir Salman to be assassinated, the 75-year-old Briton of Indian descent has received death threats on a regular basis.