U.S. Citizen Who Attempted to Assassinate Salman Rushdie Charged with Aiding Hezbollah

Latest Developments

Federal prosecutors charged the man who attempted to assassinate the celebrated author Salman Rushdie in 2022 with “attempting to provide material support” to Iranian-backed Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Hadi Matar, who is a U.S. citizen from New Jersey, was arraigned in a federal court on July 24. Rushdie was on stage at a literary festival at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York in August 2022 when he was subjected to a frenzied stabbing attack by Matar. Rushdie lost an eye in the attack but ultimately survived. In a statement, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland alleged “that in attempting to murder Salman Rushdie in New York in 2022, Hadi Matar committed an act of terrorism in the name of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist organization aligned with the Iranian regime.” FBI Director Christopher Wray observed that Matar “attempted to carry out a fatwa endorsed by Hezbollah that called for the death of Salman Rushdie — a fatwa issued in 1989 by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.” Matar, who also faces separate state charges of attempted murder and assault, pleaded not guilty to the new federal charges of “terrorism transcending national boundaries, providing material support to terrorists and attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization,” the Associated Press reported.

Expert Analysis

“The charges against Matar are serious. More broadly, they signify that Hezbollah’s anti-Western ideology — like that of other jihadist groups — can produce violent lone wolves on a global scale.” — David Daoud, FDD Senior Fellow

“The Chautauqua Institution was founded as a place of religious study and learning that has been made open to all faiths. This type of organization is antithetical to the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his proxy enablers like Hezbollah, who use terrorism to pursue the regime’s goals. Rushdie’s attacker was allegedly inspired by the propaganda of Hezbollah and the writings of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The Chautauqua Institution is a symbol of American political debate and a celebration of open societies — a stark contrast to the religious malevolence, authored by the supreme leader, that led to this attack in western New York.” — Tyler Stapleton, Director of Congressional Relations at FDD Action

“The Islamic Republic is a republic of fatwa, in which a mujtahid — a cleric who can issue fatwas — rules as the representative of the hidden Imam, who himself is God’s representative on Earth. This transnational power goes beyond the boundaries of nation-states and supplants the concept of citizenship. The regime’s significant investment in the promotion of its version of Islam across the world should be understood in the greater context of its use of asymmetric warfare to engage in Jihad.”  — Saeed Ghasseminejad, FDD Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor

Khomeini’s Fatwa Targeting Rushdie

Rushdie published his novel “The Satanic Verses” — inspired by the life of the Prophet Muhammad — in September 1988. Regarded by many Muslims as blasphemous, the novel was banned in several Muslim countries and sparked angry demonstrations among Muslim communities around the world. In February 1989, the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa — a religious edict — against Rushdie as well as his publishers and translators, declaring: “I call on all valiant Muslims wherever they may be in the world to kill them without delay, so that no one will dare insult the sacred beliefs of Muslims henceforth.” As a result, Rushdie spent almost a decade in hiding before returning to public life. Matar’s attack marked the first time that an assassin attempted to execute the fatwa. Since the attack, Matar has been held in custody without bail.

Related Analysis

“Iran Targets Salman Rushdie,” FDD Flash Brief

“Rushdie Attack Reveals – Again – True Nature of Iranian Regime,” by Jonathan Schanzer

“How the Salman Rushdie Fatwa Changed the World,” by Reuel Marc Gerecht