Iranian foundation to reward Salman Rushdie's attacker with agricultural land for his 'brave action'

The American who attacked Salman Rushdie last month is all set to be rewarded by an Iranian foundation with an agricultural land.

The Foundation to Implement Imam Khomeini's Fatwas will be gifting the accused 1,000 square metres of agricultural land.

Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old from New Jersey with roots in Lebanon, was arrested immediately after the attack in which the controversial British author lost an eye and the use of one hand.

The attacker has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges. The stabbing incident took place at a conference in Chautauqua in upstate New York on August 12 last year.

"We sincerely thank the brave action of the young American who made Muslims happy by blinding one of Rushdie's eyes and disabling one of his hands.

"Rushdie is now no more than living dead and to honour this brave action, about 1,000 square metres of agricultural land will be donated to the person or any of his legal representatives," said Mohammad Esmail Zarei, secretary of the Foundation.

The attack came 33 years after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran's supreme leader, issued a fatwa, or religious edict, calling on Muslims to assassinate Rushdie a few months after "The Satanic Verses" was published.

Some Muslims saw passages in the novel about the Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous.