Salman Rushdie, famous for his blasphemous views about Islam, was attacked on Friday before a scheduled lecture in western New York on Friday.Police said Rushdie, 75, was apparently stabbed in the neck after an assailant attacked him and an interviewer.“Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck, and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital.

His condition is not yet known,” New York State Police said in a statement, Al Jazeera reported.“The interviewer suffered a minor head injury.

A State Trooper assigned to the event immediately took the suspect into custody.”An Associated Press reporter witnessed a man storm the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced.

The author was taken or fell to the floor, and the man was restrained.Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses," one of the most divisive works in recent literary history, instantly sparked violent and irate protests all around the world.

The book was released in September 1988.The British-Indian author, who currently lives in the United States, had been previously put under police protection because of threats to his life.

The UK knighted him in 2007, which sparked protests in several countries in the Muslim world.