Major Indonesian Islamic groups say Salman Rushdie stabbing ‘regrettable’, as some netizens cheer attack

Some social media users in Indonesia justified Hadi Matar’s violent act against Rushdie, reasoning that ‘freedom shouldn’t be used to insult religion’

Indonesian Islamic organisation, Muhammadiyah, said the attack should not have taken place, and Matar’s actions do not represent any group or religion

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Many social media users in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation have been praising the man who attacked author Salman Rushdie. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:30am, 17 Aug 2022Updated: 10:41pm, 17 Aug 2022

“Alhamdulillah [Thank God], finally that devil of a man got his due!” wrote Indonesian social media user Budhi Prasetyo from Bogor after learning British-American novelist Salman Rushdie had been stabbed multiple times in New York by Hadi Matar, a Shiite Muslim who supposedly sympathises with Iran.

“What wonderful news on this beautiful morning the blasphemer was knifed!” penned Jakarta resident Haryanto Rawabuaya.

And as online debates raged on, more Indonesian Muslims defended Matar, anointing him a hero of Islam. Many, like Samsul Alie from Riau, justified the violent act, reasoning that “freedom shouldn’t be used to insult religion”.

Others lampooned the West for harbouring Rushdie for so long.

“Talk about adding insult to injury! Clearly [Rushdie] insulted the Koran,” gushed Salatiga-based Widi Astuti, “but [the West] say it’s free speech and they even gave him literary awards and the [British] Queen knighted him, too.”

Rushdie is now on the “road to recovery” after he suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and an eye during Friday’s attack. The author is likely to lose the eye, his agent Andrew Wylie said, but no longer needs the use of a ventilator.