NewsMax:

He has been under strict surveillance for decades because he fears an Islamist attack...

Star author Salman Rushdie (75) was attacked several times with a knife by an assassin at an event in Chautauqua (US state of New York)!

Rushdie's assassin (left) is led away while spectators give first aid to the star author, who is lying on the ground.

Police say Rushdie was hit in the neck. Pictures show him falling to the ground during the assassination. The attack is said to have happened around 11 a.m.

First responders immediately attended to the Indo-British author of ‘The Satanic Verses. According to investigators, Rushdie was flown to a nearby hospital in a helicopter. According to his agent, Rushdie is undergoing surgery, as the New York Times reported.

Irony: Rushdie was scheduled to speak at Chautauqua about the US as a haven for exiled writers.

The author was introduced by an interviewer when the assassin stormed the stage. "There was a major failure of security forces," an eyewitness told the New York Times. "That someone could get that close without an intervention is terrifying." But, according to Gov. Hochul, Rushdie's life was saved by a police officer who stood up and protected him.

It is still completely unclear whether the assassin is an Islamist. The police were able to arrest the man. But the fact is: The Islamist regime in Iran wants to see Rushdie dead.

Iran's then leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa (Islamic legal opinion) in 1988 calling for the author to be killed. Reason: His book "The Satanic Verses." This is a thorn in the side of the mullahs, who consider it blasphemous. As a result, Iran now has a bounty on Rushdie's head worth more than $3 million.

Salman Rushdie found out about his death sentence at the funeral of a writer friend. The Japanese translator of his books was killed in an assassination attempt. Several stores selling The Satanic Verses were blown up. And Rushdie himself - a child of non-practicing Muslims who describes himself as an atheist - lives in different places for safety. He has been a strong advocate for freedom of speech for years.

The sympathy for the assassination of Rushdie is tremendous. New York Senator Chuck Schumer condemned the sneak attack on Twitter: "This attack is shocking and appalling. It is an attack on freedom of speech and thought, two core values ​​of our country and the Chautauqua Institution."

Rushdie's friend, US fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, wrote on Twitter: "I am shocked and disturbed to see that my friend Salman Rushdie was attacked before an interview. He is a good and brilliant man.”

Bestselling author Stephen King worried about his colleague on the social network: "I hope Salman Rushdie is okay."