Why Did Hadi Matar Stab Salman Rushdie?

We may never know

To be a liberal is to believe that certain groups are always the oppressors, and other groups are always the victims. You can’t look at an event on its own terms. It must always be viewed through the lens of identity politics.

This can be awkward, particularly when the incident is a famous novelist getting stabbed onstage by an Islamic terrorist named Hadi Matar. See if you can spot what’s missing from the following “news” stories:

The New York Times @nytimes

Prosecutors said the attack on Salman Rushdie was premeditated and targeted, and that the author was stabbed roughly 10 times. The lawyer for the 24-year-old man charged for the attack entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf.

nyti.msRushdie Stabbed Roughly 10 Times in Premeditated Attack, Prosecutors SayThe writer, who was gravely wounded and had been put on a ventilator after surgery, is now talking in the hospital, according to his agent.

The Washington Post @washingtonpost

The incident occurred around 11 a.m., when a man ran onto the stage from the side and attacked Rushdie and the interviewer, Henry Reese, who suffered a minor head injury. A New York State Police trooper immediately took the suspected attacker into custody.

wapo.stSalman Rushdie hospitalized after attack onstage in New YorkThe author was about to give a talk at a prestigious event in Chautauqua, N.Y., when he was stabbed in the neck and abdomen. A suspect has been arrested and charged.

CNN @CNN

The man suspected of stabbing author Salman Rushdie pleads not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges.

cnn.itSuspect in Salman Rushdie attack pleads not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges, attorney saysThe man suspected of stabbing renowned author Salman Rushdie in western New York pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder in the second degree and other charges, his attorney says.

Who did this?

“A man.”

Oh.

Does this man have a name? Was this attack motivated by the fatwa placed on Rushdie over 30 years ago, because some imam in Iran got angry about a fictional book he never read? Why did this happen?

If you only got your news from the sources you’re supposed to trust, you’d assume the knife just jumped up and stabbed Salman Rushdie all by itself. The journos aren’t mentioning Hadi Matar’s name at all, and they give only a glancing mention of the fatwa.

Can you imagine if a Trump voter named Doug Smith had stabbed a famous author onstage? We’d know the guy’s Social Security number and TikTok password by now. Every news van in the world would be parked in front of his family’s house.

The journos went after a teenager for the crime of wearing a MAGA hat to the Lincoln Memorial, but they’re utterly incurious about this murderous terrorist.