Salman Rushdie Speaks of 'Terror' in Return to Public Life

Salman Rushdie made an emotional and unexpected return to public life Thursday night, attending the annual gala of PEN America and giving the event's final speech as he accepted a special prize, the PEN Centenary Courage Award, just nine months being after being stabbed repeatedly and hospitalized. "It's nice to be back—as opposed to not being back, which was also a possibility. I'm glad the dice rolled this way," Rushdie, 75, told hundreds gathered at the American Museum of Natural History, where he received a standing ovation, per the AP. It was his first in-person appearance at a public event since he was attacked last August while on stage at a literary festival in Western New York.

Rushdie, whose attendance had not been announced beforehand, spoke briefly, and dedicated some of his remarks to those who came to his aid at the Chautauqua Institution, a nonprofit education and retreat center. He cited a fellow attendee, Henry Reese of the City of Asylum project in Pittsburgh, for tackling the assailant and thanked audience members who also stepped in. "I accept this award, therefore, on behalf of all those who came to my rescue. I was the target that day, but they were the heroes. The courage, that day, was all theirs, and I thank them for saving my life," he said. He added, "Terror must not terrorize us. Violence must not deter us. La lutte continue. La lutta continua. The struggle goes on."

Attacks against Rushdie have been feared since the late 1980s and the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses, which Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini condemned as blasphemous for passages referring to the Prophet Mohammad. The Ayatollah issued a decree calling for Rushdie’s death, forcing the author into hiding, although he had been traveling freely for years before the stabbing. Rushdie was clearly elated to attend the gala, but his voice sounded frailer than it once did and the right frame of his glasses was dark, concealing the eye blinded by his attacker. The event's host, Saturday Night Live head writer Colin Jost, joked about the risks of being in the same room as Rushdie, likening it to sharing a balcony section with Abraham Lincoln. (Rushdie recently spoke of his ongoing recovery.)