On a Tuesday afternoon in Fairview, Silvana Fardos, the mother of the alleged assailant of author Salman Rushdie, swiftly exited her two-story beige brick house and discreetly entered a burgundy car, wearing a hat and a medical mask to conceal her identity. She drove away while journalists, who had been stationed on the peaceful street, called out inquiries. Fardos responded by stating that she had no further comments to make.
The renowned author, Rushdie, remains hospitalized with severe injuries to his right eye, neck, and stomach after being repeatedly stabbed when he rushed onto a stage in New York’s western region. The man, identified by authorities as Hadi Matar, is said to be the son of her. Four days prior, this incident left the world stunned.
Rushdie rushed towards the stage in a state of frenzy, stabbing, until the attendees were finally able to drag him away, according to authorities. However, on Friday, Matar, who resides in Fairview with his mother, was not yet born when Ayatollah Khomeini, the former Supreme Leader of Iran, issued a death threat against Rushdie due to certain passages in his book, “The Satanic Verses,” which were considered blasphemous by some Muslims.
What we understand: Iran refutes any involvement and defends their attack on Rushdie.
He shared pictures of Iranian personalities and expressed his admiration for Khomeini and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on his social media platform, becoming increasingly obsessed with religion. Those close to him, including his mother, noticed his recent isolation and depression, painting a picture of a young man who has transformed since the audacious and violent attack.
Fardos, in an interview with the Daily Mail over the weekend, said she was “shell-shocked” when she learned about her son’s arrest, as her daughter, 14, called the FBI at their home to report his prior behavior, which seemed to indicate a withdrawn and troubled state.
Bergen County resident suspected in attack on Salman Rushdie.
She exclaimed, “He resides in the cellar. He prepares his own meals.” She mentioned, “He rests during daylight hours and awakens and dines at nighttime.” According to Fardos, Matar was informed by the tabloid that he secluded himself in the basement and displayed a gloomy and withdrawn attitude at their residence on Morningside Street.
Authorities in New Jersey recently relocated and increased law enforcement, while Matar, who was born and raised in California, returned to his native Lebanon after his parents divorced in 2004. According to The Daily Mail, Matar’s father informed Fardos that he would visit Lebanon for a month in 2018, which prompted Matar to change his travel plans.
She expressed to the newspaper that he criticized her because she didn’t provide him with a disciplined Muslim upbringing. Upon his return, he appeared to be more reserved and devout, refraining from communicating with me or his sisters for several months. However, she hoped that instead of having a negative impact, the trip would inspire him to complete his education and find employment.
Fardos shed more light on his trip in an interview with a Lebanese television station on Tuesday. Fardos told him in Arabic on TV Al-Jadeed that her father’s refusal to see him in Lebanon was due to her allegation that her son was poorly treated by him.
After visiting her father and coming back feeling extremely down, she mentioned that she “brought up a celestial being” and that he was a well-behaved child, but he had undergone a transformation. She revealed that her son matured while embracing celebrations for Christmas and Halloween, and he immersed himself in studying both the Bible and the Quran, despite identifying as a Muslim.
Described as quiet and introverted, employees and individuals who use the gym at the State of Fitness Boxing Club in North Bergen, where Matar was a member, characterized him.
In an online statement, owner Desmond Boyle expressed, “Nevertheless, it was clear that he desired to remain solitary in a calm and sorrowful way.” Some of our members and coaches endeavored to acquaint themselves with him and include him in the camaraderie of our close-knit club, as we do with all our members.
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As per reports, authorities are investigating his social networking profiles, which exhibited pictures of Khomeini and seemed to express support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an organization established by Khomeini. The motives of the suspect have not been clarified by law enforcement officials.
In 1989, Khomeini issued a fatwa, also known as a religious edict, urging Muslims to execute Rushdie for committing blasphemy.
Today, it was reported that the Iranian semi-official religious foundation raised a bounty of $3.3 million to $2.8 million for Rushdie. Although anti-Rushdie sentiment lingered in 2012, the Iranian government has distanced itself from Khomeini’s decree for a long time.
In relation to the incident at The Chautauqua Institute, a non-profit educational and sanctuary facility, Matar entered a plea of not guilty in Chautauqua County Court for charges of attempted murder and assault on Saturday. Currently, he is being detained without the possibility of bail in the Chautauqua County Jail.