INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), saying he acted entirely on his own.In an exclusive interview with The New York Post on Wednesday, Hadi
Matar, however, hailed Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Revolution.He acknowledged that he doubted the author would survive the
attack."I guess I was startled when I heard he survived," Matar said in a video interview from the Chautauqua County Jail.The 24-year-old
refused to say whether he was influenced by the late Imam Khomeini's fatwa, which called for murder of Rushdie in 1989 because of his
divisive works in recent literary history, instantly sparked violent and irate protests all around the world
The book was released in September 1988.The book has been prohibited in Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Kenya,
Thailand, Tanzania, Indonesia, Singapore, Venezuela, and Pakistan.Rushdie referred to the Prophet Muhammad in his book as "Mahound," a
disparaging epithet given to the Prophet by early crusaders that meant "devil" or "false prophet."In 1990, he issued a statement claiming he
had renewed his Muslim faith, repudiated the attacks on Islam made by characters in his novel, and was committed to working for better
understanding of the religion around the world in the "hope that it would reduce the threat of Muslims acting on the fatwa to kill him."
