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Who is Salman Rushdie? What is he famous for? Wasn’t he in Bridget Jones’ Diary?

Salman Rushdie is recovering with severe, “life-changing” injuries after being stabbed repeatedly before a scheduled public appearance in the US state of New York over the weekend.

He was due to give a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution when a man ran on stage and stabbed him.

Two days after the attack, Rushdie’s son, Zafar Rushdie, said his father was well enough to be taken off a ventilator, had been able to speak and his “usual feisty and defiant sense of humor” was still intact.

Here’s a shortcut guide to Rushdie’s story, why some people wanted him dead and how that made him fodder for sitcom jokes.

Who is Salman Rushdie?

Rushdie is an author, best known for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses — dubbed by publishing house Penguin Books as one of the most controversial books of modern times.

A cover for Salman Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
Rushdie has been subjected to death threats over this novel. (Supplied: Pengiun Books)

The 75-year-old was born into a Muslim Kashmiri family in Bombay, now Mumbai, before moving to the UK.

He now lives in New York City as a US citizen.

Rushdie is a self-described lapse of Muslim and “hardline atheist.”

Why would someone want to kill him?

Some Muslims said The Satanic Verses contained blasphemous passages and mocked their beliefs.

The novel draws on elements of the life of Islamic Prophet Mohammed and the origin story of the Qur’an.

Theological scholar Myriam Renaud unpacked some of the criticisms in a piece for the Conversation in 2017:

Rushdie chooses a provocative name for Mohammed. The novel’s version of the Prophet is called Mahound — an alternative name for Mohammed sometimes used during the Middle Ages by Christians who considered him a devil.

And:

In Rushdie’s book, Salman [a character in the novel]for example, attributes certain actual passages in the Qur’an that place men “in charge of women” and give men the right to strike wives from whom they “fear arrogance”, to Mahound’s sexist views.

In 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran’s supreme leader, pronounced a fatwa calling upon Muslims to kill Rushdie.

The British government responded by putting him under police protection, with Rushdie going into hiding for nearly a decade.

Rushdie professed his profound regret for causing distress to Muslims while he was in hiding, according to the BBC, but the fatwa remained.

While he has lived a freer existence since Iran’s then-president Mohammad Khatami said the affair was “completely finished” in 1998, there were still many who wanted him dead.

A bounty of more than $US3 million was offered for his murder.

What is he famous for?

Rushdie is an acclaimed author, with a knighthood for services to literature and a Booker Prize under his belt.

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US

Autopsy reports released in Iowa state park triple homicide

Investigators have released autopsy reports on the victims and the suspect in the triple homicide at Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground. Officials say 42-year-old Tyler Schmidt died from a gunshot wound and multiple sharp force injuries. His wife, 42-year-old Sarah Schmidt, died from multiple sharp force injuries. Their daughter, 6-year-old Lula Schmidt, died from a gunshot wound and strangulation. All three family members’ deaths have been ruled homicides. The family’s 9-year-old son Arlo Schmidt survived the attack. The family is from Cedar Falls. Many there have paid tribute to them in recent weeks. Investigators report that 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, of LaVista, Nebraska, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death has been ruled a suicide. Investigators report that the woman who first called for assistance at the campgrounds was Sherwin’s mother.”He did run just to the first set of adults and it ends up being Sherwin’s mother who called 911,” Mitch Mortvedt with Iowa DCI said. Officials say all evidence collected points to Sherwin as the perpetrator. They believe he acted alone. Iowa DCI isn’t releasing some details out of respect for the family. “You try to wrap our rational minds around a very irrational behavior and I don’t mean to be that simple about it but sometimes you can’t understand or fathom what’s going on with someone,” Mortvedt said. Previous coverage:

Investigators have released autopsy reports on the victims and the suspect in the triple homicide at Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground.

Officials say 42-year-old Tyler Schmidt died from a gunshot wound and multiple sharp force injuries. His wife, 42-year-old Sarah Schmidt, died from multiple sharp force injuries.

Their daughter, 6-year-old Lula Schmidt, died from a gunshot wound and strangulation. All three family members’ deaths have been ruled homicides.

The family’s 9-year-old son Arlo Schmidt survived the attack. The family is from Cedar Falls. Many there have paid tribute to them in recent weeks.

Investigators report that 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, of LaVista, Nebraska, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death of him has been ruled a suicide.

Investigators report that the woman who first called for assistance at the campgrounds was Sherwin’s mother.

“He did run just to the first set of adults and it ends up being Sherwin’s mother who called 911,” Mitch Mortvedt with Iowa DCI said.

Officials say all evidence collected points to Sherwin as the perpetrator. They believe he acted alone.

Iowa DCI isn’t releasing some details out of respect for the family.

“You try to wrap our rational minds around a very irrational behavior and I don’t mean to be that simple about it but sometimes you can’t understand or fathom what’s going on with someone,” Mortvedt said.

Previous coverage:



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