Author Salman Rushdie stabbed in New York, attacker restrained

British author Salman Rushdie was attacked on Friday as he was about to give a lecture in New York, according to international reports. Associated Press reported that one of its journalists witnessed a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced. The 75-year-old author, whose writing led to death threats from Iran over the years, fell to the floor while the attacker was restrained. New York state police said Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital. His condition is not yet known.  The interviewer suffered a minor head injury.  A 1989 file photo shows fundamentalists burn an effigie of Salman Rushdie who they are accuse of blasphemy. Photo: AFP His book The Satanic Verses has been banned in Iran since 1988, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous. He was forced into hiding in the UK for a decade because the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill the author, saying his book insulted Islam. The Iranian government declared in 1998 that it would not support the fatwa but could not...