The man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie is a 24-year-old born to Lebanese parents who reportedly became radicalized and withdrawn after a month-long trip to the Middle East in 2018.
Hadi Matar was born in California but his parents split in 2004, with his father returning to Lebanon and his mother getting a fresh start in New Jersey, according to his mother, Silvana Fardos, who spoke to The Daily Mail.
She said she is shocked by the stabbing and that her son turned into a different person after his trip to Lebanon to see his father.
“The first hour he gets there he called me, he wanted to come back. He stayed for approximately 28 days but the trip did not go well with his father, he felt very alone,” she said. “I was expecting him to come back motivated, to complete school, to get his degree and a job. But instead, he locked himself in the basement. He had changed a lot, he didn’t say anything to me or his sisters for months.”
She said he showed an increased interest in Islam but did not dress differently, leading his mother to hope it was a phase.
“One time he argued with me asking why I encouraged him to get an education instead of focusing on religion. He was angry that I did not introduce him to Islam from a young age,” she said.
Mr. Rushdie, 75, was stabbed at least 10 times on Friday during a speaking engagement at The Chautauqua Institution in western New York.
His son, Zafar Rushdie, described his father’s condition as critical Sunday, despite being taken off of a ventilator over the weekend.
The Indian-born British author has, for decades, lived under constant threat after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa in response to his 1988 book “The Satanic Verses.”
Aspects of the novel are viewed as blasphemous by some Muslims, and dozens of people have been killed in attacks or riots connected to fervor over the book.
Spectators told NBC that Friday’s attacker wore black clothes and a black mask, and the audience was astounded as it realized the author was being beaten on stage.
Mr. Matar was arrested by a state trooper, and investigators are in contact with New Jersey authorities to understand the planning behind the attack, the outlet reported.
Law enforcement told NBC that a review of Mr. Matar’s social media accounts showed he is sympathetic to Shia extremism and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps causes.
Multiple reports said Mr. Matar had a fake driver’s license under the alias of “Hassan Mughniyah.”
Ms. Fardos told the Mail that authorities raided her son’s basement apartment and took a computer, PlayStation, books, knives and a tool to sharpen blades.
“He’s responsible for his actions,” she said. “I have another two minors that I need to take care of. They are upset, they’re shocked. All we can do is try to move on from this, without him.”
Mr. Matar is being held at the Chautauqua County Jail on one count of attempted second-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault.
• Joseph Clark contributed to this report.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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