'Despicable': Blinken slams Iran soon after Rushdie stabbing

Brady Knox

August 15, 11:32 AM August 15, 11:33 AM

Secretary of State Antony Blinken singled out the Iranian authorities for criticism just after the stabbing of novelist Salman Rushdie past 7 days in advance of a lecture in New York.

In a statement introduced Sunday, Blinken expressed solidarity with Rushdie, 75, praising his get the job done and what he represents. He stressed the U.S. commitment to the rights of free of charge speech and expression when condemning the government of Iran, which has celebrated the assault.

"Although regulation enforcement officials go on to investigate the assault, I am reminded of the pernicious forces that find to undermine these legal rights, which include by way of detest speech and incitement to violence," he claimed. "Specifically, Iranian point out establishments have incited violence versus Rushdie for generations, and point out-affiliated media a short while ago gloated about the endeavor on his everyday living. This is despicable."

'LIKE A Type OF Poor PRANK': Guy ON Phase WITH SALMAN RUSHDIE TELLS OF HORRIFIC Attack

Iran's ayatollah famously issued a fatwa against Rushdie in 1989 around the author's The Satanic Verses, a operate thought of blasphemous to several Muslims. The fatwa termed upon all Muslims to get rid of the creator or assistance these who could, even offering a multimillion-greenback reward for everyone who pulled it off.

Iranian officials and media celebrated the attack.

"Bravo to this courageous and responsibility-aware man who attacked the apostate and wicked Salman Rushdie in New York,” the conservative Tehran-centered newspaper Kayhan wrote. “Let us kiss the palms of the 1 who tore the neck of the enemy of God with a knife.”

"I would not be shedding tears for a author who spouts infinite hatred & contempt for Muslims & Islam. A pawn of empire who poses as a Postcolonial novelist," tweeted an official Iranian adviser to the Vienna nuclear offer talks.

Even with its celebrations, Iran sought to dodge blame more than the attack, pointing at Rushdie as an alternative and criticizing the West's reaction.

"We, in the incident of the attack on Salman Rushdie in the US, do not take into account that any individual warrants blame and accusations other than him and his supporters," mentioned Iran's Overseas Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani, in accordance to the New York Article.

He added that the West, "condemning the actions of the attacker and in return glorifying the steps of the insulter to Islamic beliefs is a contradictory mindset." Iran has no additional data on the attack apart from what Western media have claimed, he claimed.

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Rushdie experienced grave injuries in the attack, his agent Andrew Wylie claimed, which include a ruined liver, the severing of nerves in his arm, and the probable reduction of his eye. Nevertheless, he is now off a ventilator, and "his problem is headed in the correct route," the agent additional on Sunday.

His attacker, New Jersey resident Hadi Matar, is becoming held with no bail. He has pleaded not responsible to charges of attempted murder and assault.

'Like a sort of poor prank': Guy on stage with Salman Rushdie tells of horrific assault

Brady Knox

August 14, 03:32 PM August 14, 03:32 PM

The person who was meant to job interview novelist Salman Rushdie before he was attacked onstage in New York on Friday is talking out about how surprising the ambush was to him.

Henry Reese, co-founder of Town of Asylum, a nonprofit group primarily based in Pittsburgh that properties writers exiled for controversial writings, sat down for an job interview with CNN host Brian Stelter. Even though Rushdie was grievously wounded — he appears to be on his way to restoration — Reese acquired a small injury and is witnessed in the interview with a swollen eye and a patch on his confront.

"It was really tricky to understand, it appeared like a form of poor prank. It didn't have any feeling of actuality, and then, when there was blood behind him, it turned true," Reese stated.

SALMAN RUSHDIE STABBED A number of Periods Throughout FRENZIED Assault ONSTAGE

Reese declined to give any extra facts about the attack, indicating he did not want to discuss about it.

Soon after suffering extreme accidents on Friday, together with a neck wound, Rushdie has just been taken off a ventilator and started to converse again. His agent, Andrew Wylie, advised CNN of the fantastic information on Sunday.

“He’s off the ventilator, so the street to recovery has begun,” he stated. “It will be extended — the injuries are critical. But his ailment is headed in the correct direction.”

Prosecutors explained that the creator was stabbed 10 periods by Hadi Matar, a 24-yr-aged New Jersey man, in a premeditated assault, in accordance to the New York Times. A public defender for Matar, who is billed with attempted murder and assault, entered a not-guilty plea for the suspect. Matar is getting held in jail without bail, awaiting his up coming court look set for Friday.

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Rushdie may eliminate an eye, his liver was damaged, and the nerves in his arm are severed, Wylie explained to the newspaper.

Irrespective of the outpouring of help from most in the United States and West, solidarity wasn't discovered everywhere you go. In Iran — wherever the Ayatollah famously issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death subsequent his 1988 publication of The Satanic Verses, which lots of Muslims find blasphemous — the information was fulfilled with jubilation. The entrance web page of Keyhan, a newspaper published in Tehran, explained that Rushdie had been satisfied with "divine vengeance" and that former President Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo "are subsequent."

Murders of four Muslim gentlemen in Albuquerque possibly joined: Police

Jack Birle

August 07, 04:28 PM August 07, 04:28 PM

Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, say the murder of a Muslim guy Friday may perhaps be linked to the killings of a few other Muslim gentlemen above the past 9 months in the town.

The Albuquerque Law enforcement Section said the male slain on Friday was in his 20s and was of South Asian origin but has not been publicly determined. The 3 others considered to be joined to the Friday killing involve the Aug. 1 killing of Muhammed Afzaal Hussain from Pakistan, the July 26 killing of Aftab Hussein from Pakistan, and the killing of Mohammad Ahmadi from Afghanistan in November.

Expanding Concern FOR NEW MEXICO MUSLIMS Following UPTICK IN MURDERS

"There is cause to believe this demise is related to those people shootings," Albuquerque Law enforcement Chief Harold Medina explained in the course of a press meeting on Saturday, according to the Linked Press.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) stated she is "angered and saddened" by the killings.

"This is not who we are. We will not halt in our pursuit of justice for the victims and their people and are bringing each and every useful resource to bear to apprehend the killer or killers — and we WILL obtain them," the governor claimed in a assertion.

President Joe Biden also released a assertion through a tweet on Sunday.

"I am angered and saddened by the horrific killings of four Muslim guys in Albuquerque. Although we await a entire investigation, my prayers are with the victims’ people, and my Administration stands strongly with the Muslim group," Biden explained. "These hateful attacks have no area in The us."

Albuquerque law enforcement claimed the FBI is doing work with them in their investigation and urged men and women to get in touch with authorities if they have any facts with regards to the killings. A $15,000 reward is becoming presented for info main up to an arrest.

Lululemon introduces exercise session hijabs

Asher Notheis

June 11, 10:08 AM June 11, 10:08 AM

Apparel firm Lululemon has launched a new line of work out hijabs as some shops continue to attraction to Islamic ladies amid controversies bordering comparable outfits.

The new garments, which were being put on the net before this week, appear in two diverse variations: the Light-weight Performance Hijab and the wraparound Scarf-Design Hijab, both of which are intended to allow Islamic girls the flexibility of doing the job out when donning spiritual garb, even as some governments, this sort of as France, debate permitting similar athletic don in particular community spaces.

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Equivalent athletic dress in geared toward Muslim girls has attracted controversy. Grenoble, a city in France, initially voted in favor of letting girls to dress in burkinis, which protect all the things but the wearers' faces, palms, and ft, on May 16. But the vote was suspended by a French administrative courtroom, which reported the go was "significantly undermining secularism," on Might 26. Muslim legal rights businesses in France have argued that bans on burkinis prohibit basic liberties and embrace discrimination, according to Reuters.

Other main stores, such as Nike and Macy's, released identical apparel traces that included hijabs in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Macy's been given both equally backlash and praise for the clothes, with some arguing the company was embracing a image of oppression and some others praising the brand name for its marketing of diversity, according to Business enterprise Insider.

A 3rd fashion of Lululemon's hijab, the OTM Pull On Hijab, is slated to go to marketplace later on this year.

Lululemon has not responded to the Washington Examiner's ask for for comment.