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ds:Ontheassaul
t Chi ldr en( 1981) ,whi chr eimagi nedI ndi a’
s
onSal
manRushdie i
ndependence,he had di spensed wi t
h
saf et y net s, j ust l ike hi s l i
ter ary
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tonRushdiei
sanatt
ackonthose
whospeakoutagai
nstal
lfor
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remism i
nspi rat i
ons, Gabr iel Gar cia Mar quez ,
Gunt er Gr ass and Nadi ne Gor dimer .
August16,
2022
Rushdi ef oundanew l anguaget owr it
e
SalmanRushdi ehasl i
vedi nt heshadow about“ hotandov ercr owdedandv ulgar
ofa deat ht hr eatsi nce1989,af terhi s andl oud”I ndia,shi ningal ightf orf uture
four thnov el ,TheSat anicVer ses( 1988) , wr it
er s such as Ar undhat i Roy . The
l
edI ran’ sAy at ollahRuhol lahKhomei nit o assaul ton Rushdi ei s al so an at tack
i
ssue a f atwa agai nst t he wr it
er f or agai nstv oices who speak outagai nst
offendi ng I slam,t he Pr ophet and t he ext remi sm.Fart oo manywr i
ters,f rom
Kor an.Theext rater ri
tor i
aledi ctmul tipli
ed M. M.Kal bur gi,Gaur iLankesh t o Anna
thedangert ot hewr iter,andt hought he Pol itkov skay a,hav ef acedv iolence,some
mot ive i s st i
ll unknown, l ast Fr iday, pay ingwi tht heirlives, foragi t
at i
ngpeopl e
Rushdi e,75,wasst abbedmul tiplet i
mes i
na“ cul t
ureofeasyof fendedness” .On
atal i
ter aryf unct ioni nNewYor k.Hei sof f the f ront l
ine,Rushdi e has been acut ely
thev ent il
ator ,but ,accor dingt ohi sson, alivet ot heexpandi ngt hreat .“Thi snew
remai nsi ncr iticalcondi t
ion.Thr ought he i
dea, ” he wr i
tes i n an essay t itl
ed
year s,ot her shav ef acedv i
ol enceov ert he ‘
Cour age’( Languages of Tr ut h),“ that
nov el t
oo.Peopl ehav edi edi nr i
ot s,bl asts, wr it
er s,schol arsand ar tistswho st and
fi
ring t o pr ot estagai nstt he book;hi s agai nstor t
hodoxyorbi got ryar et obl ame
Japanese, Nor wegi an and I tali
an forupset ting peopl ei s spr eadi ng f ast,
translat orswer et arget ed;abombki ll
ed ev en t o count ries l ike I ndi at hatonce
theper sonwhowast ryingt oseti tof f
. prided t hemsel ves on t heirf r
eedoms. ”
Rushdi ewenti ntohi dingf orni ney ears, Speakup,hesay s,ev eryl it
tlebi tcount s.
wher ehebur nishedhi sweaponofchoi ce Rushdi e’s next nov el,Vi ctory Ci t
y ,a
— wor ds.Hehast alkedt hel anguageof transl at ionofanepi c,andabookabout
truth,uphel df reedoms ofar tand t he the “ powerand t he hubr is oft hose i n
i
nt ell
ect and pushed f or i deal s of power ”,i soutnextFebr uar y.Butbef ore
democr acysuchast her ightt odi ssenti n thel ongr ecov ery ,aspotofcheerf rom
his 14 nov el s,and i n sev erali nci si
v e thehospi t
al: hissonsay sRushdi ei sbei ng
essay s.I nfact , undercov er, assumi ngt he hisusualf eistyanddef i
antsel f,andt hat
nom deguer reJosephAnt on( inspi redby hissenseofhumouri sint act.
the wander er i n Conr ad, and t he
mel anchol yofChekov ;alsot het it
leofhi s
2012memoi r),hepennedHar ounandt he
SeaofSt ories, abookhehadpr omi sedt o
wr i
tef orhi sni ne- year -oldson.

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