Reaffirming Khomeini's death edict against Salman Rushdie
Khamenei repeatedly reaffirmed the 1989 fatwa calling for the death of novelist Salman Rushdie, including in a 2005 Hajj message and in a 2019 post that Twitter removed as a threat of violence. After Rushdie was stabbed in New York in 2022, a newspaper whose editor is appointed by Khamenei praised the attacker.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- As president, suggests a pardon if Rushdie repents; Khomeini rejects it - The New York Times reported that Khamenei, then president, suggested days after the edict that Rushdie might be pardoned if he repented. Ayatollah Khomeini rejected this and said it was incumbent on every Muslim to kill Rushdie even if he repented. Khomeini Spurns Rushdie Regrets and Reiterates Threat of Death
- Hajj message calls Rushdie an apostate whose blood may be shed - The Independent reported that in his annual message to Hajj pilgrims, Khamenei described Rushdie as 'mahdour al-damm mortad', an apostate whose killing is permitted. The paper noted that Britain had said Iran withdrew government support for the fatwa in 1998. Rushdie fatwa reaffirmed by Iranian leader in message to Mecca pilgrims
- Tweet calls the Rushdie verdict 'solid and irrevocable'; Twitter hides it - BuzzFeed News reported that the Twitter account linked to Khamenei posted that Khomeini's verdict on Rushdie 'is based on divine verses and just like divine verses, it is solid and irrevocable'. Twitter hid the tweet for violating its rules against threats of violence and placed the account in read-only mode. Twitter Just Removed A Tweet From An Account Linked To Iran's Supreme Leader, Raising Enforcement Questions
- Rushdie stabbed; paper whose editor Khamenei appoints praises the attacker - Rushdie was stabbed and seriously wounded at a literary event in New York State. Reuters reported that Kayhan, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Khamenei, praised the attacker, while Iran's foreign ministry denied involvement and said Rushdie and his supporters were to blame. Iran's hardline newspapers praise Salman Rushdie's attacker