Salman Rushdie, author of Satanic Verses stabbed on stage New York

Salman Rushdie, the author of Satanic Verses, which earned him many death threats and an Iranian Fatwa, was stabbed in the neck at a literary event in upstate New York Friday.

According to New York Post, an assailant stormed the stage soon after his introduction.

The man proceeded to stab Rushdie, who was scheduled to talk at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y., some 75 miles south of Buffalo.

Rushdie was airlifted to an area hospital, the New York State Police said in a statement.

Rushdie fell through a stage barrier following the attack, and witnesses told the Washington Post that they saw blood on the author’s hand.

The attacker was subsequently tackled by police, the paper reported.

Rushdie’s condition was not immediately known, and a lone male assailant was in Police custody.

The novel Satanic Verses, which earned the British-Indian Rushdie many death threats was published in September 1988. It was Rushdie’s fourth novel.

The book was inspired by the life of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (PBOH).

As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters.

Islamic fundamentalists were not so happy with him.

On 14 February 1989 Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to execute him , along with anyone else involved with the novel.

Rushdie then went into hiding for many years.