Rushdie off ventilator, 'feisty and defiant' sense of humor intact following stabbing

Salmon Rushdie's agent said on Sunday that the author has been removed from a ventilator and is breathing on his own after surviving a brutal stabbing attack Friday night in Western, New York.

According to the New York Times, Rushdie's agent Andrew Wylie said that "The road to recovery has begun" for Rushdie and that "his condition is headed in the right direction."

The man who allegedly stabbed author Salman Rushdie was charged with second degree attempted murder on Saturday, after attacking the author at the Chautauqua Institution where Rushdie was set to lecture. The Associated Press reports that 24-year-old Hadi Matar of Fairview, New Jersey pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included second degree assault.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Rushdie’s son Zafar said of his dad, "Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humor remains intact." Salmon Rushdie is still expected to lose an eye from the attack.

Rushdie is known for his writings, and his most notorious work, The Satanic Verses, has been banned in Iran since 1988. The book is considered blasphemous by many Muslims and has led to death threats, mostly from Iran, since the 1980s.

Reports say Matar stabbed Rushdie multiple times in the neck and abdomen which left the author bloody and on the ground. Matar was arrested at the scene and is being held without bail in the Chautauqua County Jail.

75-year-old Rushdie also suffered severed nerves in his arms and damage to his liver from the attack.

Event attendees rushed onto the stage to Rushdie's defense. He was airlifted to the hospital where doctors began surgery on him immediately.

Attendees of the lecture questioned the event security. Henry Reese, 73, who was also on stage to moderate the discussion with Rushdie, suffered minor injuries to his face during the attack, police said. He was treated and released, MSN reports.

Police have not yet laid a motive and District Attorney Jason Schmidt said, "This is the very early stage of what will invariably be a protracted legal process."

The New York Post reports that law enforcement told the outlet that "Matar has made social media posts in support of Iran and its Revolutionary Guard, and in support of Shi’a extremism more broadly."

In 1989, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death because of  The Satanic Verses and placed a bounty on his head. That bounty currently sits around $3 million. While Iran's current government has toned down the anti-Rushdie sentiment, a semi-official Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty on Rushdie from $2.8 million to $3.3 million in 2012.