Appalled, devastated and worried. How the world is reacting to the attack on Salman Rushdie

The Indian-born British author, who has received death threats for his 1988 book, “Iranian-born German politician Bijan Djir-Sarai blamed the Iranian government for the attack, saying in a Friday tweet: “The Iranian mullahs’ regime is also responsible for this cowardly attack. Anyone who wants normal relations with this regime should know this.”The suspect in the attack has been identified as Hadi Matar from Fairview, New Jersey. There has not yet been any official reaction from Iran to the attack. However, several hardline Iranian newspapers poured praise on Matar on Saturday, including the Kayhan newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is appointed by Khamenei, Reuters reported.”A thousand bravos … to the brave and dutiful person who attacked the apostate and evil Salman Rushdie in New York,” it said, according to Reuters, adding: “The hand of the man who tore the neck of God’s enemy must be kissed.”The news has rattled authors from across South Asia and the diaspora, including Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, who said she was “shocked” by the news. “I never thought it would happen. He has been living in the West, and he has been protected since 1989,” said Nasreen, who is known for her writings on women’s oppression, and who has had some of her books banned in Bangladesh. “If he is attacked, anyone who is critical of Islam can be attacked. I am worried,” she said.Aatish Taseer, a British-American writer and journalist who had his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card — a form of permanent residency available to people of Indian origin — revoked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, said that he was “devastated” by the news. “Devastated by the news about @SalmanRushdie. He was the first writer I ever met and his determination to defend his freedom (and that of others) in the face of religious extremism has been a constant inspiration. I know he will be ok. He has to be,” Taseer said. American writers and organizations have also been left reeling from the attack. Rushdie has been living in the United States in recent years. Press Freedom group PEN America said in a Friday statement that the organization “is reeling from shock and horror” after Friday’s attack. “We can think of no comparable incident of a public attack on a literary writer on American soil,” said CEO Suzanne Nossel.”Salman Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades but has never flinched nor faltered,” Nossel said. “He has devoted tireless energy to assisting others who are vulnerable and menaced.”Nossel also said that hours before the attack Rushdie had emailed her asking for help in finding safe refuge for “Ukrainian writers in need of safe refuge from the grave perils they face.”CNN’s Eyad Kourdi, Jake Kwon, Alex Stambaugh and Jonny Hallam contributed reporting.