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Reacting to the news that Indian-born British-American writer Salman Rushdie had been stabbed roughly ten times in New York, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the ruling Taliban jihadi organization) has warned that wherever in the world the blasphemers are, they will be killed.[1] Following the attack, Rushdie, though badly wounded and reportedly likely to lose an eye, has been taken off a ventilator and is starting to recover.[2]
Rushdie is the author of The Satanic Verses, a 1988 novel that many Muslims deem to be blasphemous and for which then Ayatollah and Supreme Leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini issued in 1989 a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie.
A screenshot of the tweets from the Urdu-language Twitter handle of Afghan Taliban
"God permitting, may the news about Salman Rushdie being delivered to hell be true. Amen, Amen, once again," the Urdu-language official handle of the Islamic Emirate on Twitter said soon after the renowned author was attacked.
The Taliban handle @IEAUrduOfficial also warned: "Wherever in protective ring, in whichever corner of the world the blasphemer of the Prophet may be, his fate will be a dreadful death, Allah willing!"
"When Salman Rushdie committed blasphemy against the prophet's honor, attacked Islam, and the hearts of Muslims were wounded, wrote the wrong book [The Satanic Verses], then the international media did not even half-condemn it. However, when a youth attacked Salman Rushdie on his blasphemy, then the international media erupted [in pain]," it stated.
It appears that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister of the Afghan Taliban government, also accused Salman Rushdie of blasphemy. The exact tweet on Mullah Baradar's statement was deleted by Abdullah Azzam, the personal secretary to the deputy prime minister.
[1] Twitter, August 12, 13 & 14, 2022.
[2] Cnbc.com/2022/08/13/salman-rushdie-on-ventilator-after-stabbing-may-lose-an-eye.html#:~:text=The%20Satanic%20Verses.%E2%80%9D-,Rushdie%2C%2075%2C%20suffered%20a%20damaged%20liver%2C%20severed%20nerves%20in,to%20lose%20the%20injured%20eye, August 13, 2022; Nytimes.com/2022/08/14/nyregion/salman-rushdie-recovery.html, August 14, 2022.
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