Salman Rushdie told his left and right censorship in his 60 minutes last spring. First major TV interview Since being attacked at the Literary Festival in 2022, the writer talked to the radio in April 2024 before his book Knife was published, a profound personal exploration of his near-death experience.

"It seems like there is an orthodox orthodoxy, especially among young people, censorship ... is a good thing," Rushdy told correspondent Anderson Cooper.

The acclaimed author says today’s attack on free expression comes from different directions. He explained that before, conservative voices were voices calling for banning books, including those discussing the roles of race in history. But now, according to Rushdie, leftists demand restrictions on freedom of speech.

"What's different now is that it also comes from the sound of progress," he said. "The sound of progress says that certain voices are not allowed because it offends this or that vulnerable group."

Rushdie said that when words are suppressed, the initially affected are usually minorities.

“Theoretically supporting censorship representing vulnerable groups is a very slippery slope,” Rushdie said. “This could lead to the opposite of what you want.”

Censorship is a subject that highly recognized by acclaimed novelists. In 1989, Iran's leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a religious decree against Rushdie, ordering all Muslims to kill him. The controversy stems from his novel Satanic scriptures, which depicts a metaphor to the character of the prophet Muhammad, who argues that Ayatollah considers “blasphemy.”

In 1990, 60-minute correspondent Mike Wallace headed to a secret location in London to talk to Rushdie, who lives in a hiding place. Rushdie was optimistic at the time and could coordinate with critics.

"In this country, I don't think there are actually a lot of people who are very interested in causing me any harm," Rushdie said at the time. "I don't think it's the case in the United States either."

Although he is optimistic, he will still hide for nearly 9 years after this interview.

In 1998, the Iranian regime said they no longer supported the FATWA killing Rushdie, but the threat to the author continued.

On August 2022, Rushdie took the stage at the Literary Festival in Chautauqua, New York, ready to talk about the importance of protecting writers at risk. A man who rushed to the stage with a knife stabbed him several times in his face, neck, chest and torso.

The attacker was a 24-year-old Muslim man from New Jersey who said he had read only a few pages of "Satanic Scripture" and had seen some clips of the author on YouTube. But it was enough to make him feel Rushdie "attacked Islam."

The author said in a 60-minute interview that the sounds heard are valuable because they challenge people.

"There is a crime industry right now," Rushdie explained. "Observation has become an aspect of identity politics. My opinion is that it's easy for a book to stop offending you.

Rushdie is a writer at the heart of his heart. He said he was frustrated with the threats he had throughout his life, not the people he had told stories throughout his life.

“My desire to be a writer is entirely related to my love for the imagination, the power of the imaginary world, creating the world inhabited by readers and their imaginations,” he said. “I hope they are not obscured by the shadow of such events.”

If the attack on his life succeeds, Rushdie says becoming a writer is the way he wants to be remembered.

"I have bookshelf," he said. "That's what I want people to see. Hopefully some of them may continue."

The video above was originally published on April 14, 2024. It was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and edited by Scott Rosann.