- Salman Rushdie stated he prefers to be known for his books rather than as a symbol of free speech or for the 2022 knife attack he endured.
- The British-Indian novelist was attacked by Hadi Matar in August 2022 at the Chautauqua Institution, resulting in severe injuries, including the loss of sight in one eye.
- The assault is widely believed to be connected to a fatwa issued by Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989 following the publication of Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses.
- Rushdie has since published a memoir, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, detailing the attack and his recovery, and a new short story collection, The Eleventh Hour.
- He also shared his views on censorship, highlighting that while historically it originated from the powerful, there is now a concerning trend of self-censorship among young writers.
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