Rachel Eliza Griffiths, 43, enjoyed a romantic ‘writer’s retreat’ with Sir Salman at a 15th-century Italian castle just weeks before a crazed knifeman tried to stab the 75-year-old Satanic Verses author. Last night Dana Prescott, who organized the retreat, confirmed the pair spent 18 days together at Civitella Ranieri castle in Umbria last month and claimed Sir Salman refused her offer to provide security. “I asked him if he had any security concerns, as I can ask the carabinieri [police] to attend our events or be present at the entrance and said, “Absolutely not, that’s in my past.” Mrs Prescott said the pair gave a joint speech at the castle. Rachel Eliza Griffiths (pictured), 43, enjoyed a romantic ‘writer’s retreat’ with Sir Salman Rushdie weeks before the New York attack Sir Salman has been under a “fatwa”, or death sentence, since 1989, when his controversial novel was branded blasphemous by some Muslims. Last night he remained in hospital with life-changing injuries after he was stabbed 15 times in the neck and torso at a literary event in New York state on August 12. His agent told him he might lose an eye. Suspect Hadi Matar, 24, appeared in court last week and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault. It is unclear when love first blossomed for the American Ms. Griffiths and the author. Her social media account features photos of the couple at events dating back to 2017 and she was by Sir Salman’s side when he celebrated his 72nd birthday in London in June 2019. They were photographed together at literary gatherings in New York and London earlier this year. He is represented by the same New York literary agency, Wylie, as the four-times-married Sir Salman. His last wife was Padma Lakshmi, the television presenter and model, with the couple divorcing in 2007. When Ms Griffiths published her first book of poems and photographs in 2020, Seeing The Body, she gave cryptic thanks: “My beautiful and extraordinary love, S. Public records in the US appear to indicate that Ms Griffiths and Sir Salman may have bought a home together in Delaware earlier this year. While she declined to comment publicly on the attack, she posted a photo on Instagram to her 6,500 followers this week of herself in a field of sunflowers, writing: “Gathering every strength and hurt love gives us. Let me be in awe,” followed by a praying hands emoji. Left to right: Milan Rushdie, Eliza Griffiths, Salman Rushdie, Natalie Rushdie and Zafar Rushdie attend the 2019 Booker Prize at The Guildhall on October 14, 2019 in London It appears Sir Salman’s family have embraced it, with his younger sister Sameen posting birthday wishes to Ms Griffiths on social media. A source told The Mail on Sunday: “Rachel is beautiful and talented and it’s no wonder Salman is smitten with her. “But she clearly wants to be recognized as an artist in her own right. She and Salman have been photographed together over the years. “She has never spoken publicly about their relationship and neither has he. But it is an open secret that they are together.’ On Friday, hundreds of Rushdie supporters gathered in front of the New York Public Library to support the stricken author. Writers including Gay Talese, Colum McCann and Tina Brown joined the crowd. American novelist Jeffrey Eugenides told how he was so in awe of Rushdie that he decided to visit him in London in the 1980s: “I looked him up in the London phone book. “There it was, under Rs – Rushdie, Salman, along with an address and a phone number. “As it turned out, Salman was not at home. . . but his mother-in-law let me in. I told her why I was there. . . and I wrote a note to Mr. Rushdie and left it with him. “That was a world we lived in. . . this world was called civilization.’ Sir Salman’s son Zafar said his father’s “usual lively and defiant sense of humor remains intact” despite the “life-changing injuries”. Ms Griffiths declined to comment last night. The chairman of the UK-based Islamic Human Rights Commission – which has received more than £1.4m in charity cash – praised the fatwa on Sir Salman Rushdie less than a year ago By Max Aitchison for The Mail on Sunday The chairman of a British human rights organization which has received more than £1.4m in charity cash praised the fatwa on Sir Salman Rushdie less than a year ago, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Massoud Shadjareh, founder and president of the controversial Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), spoke fondly of the death sentence handed down to the author in 1989 after the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses. Massoud Shadjareh, founder and president of the controversial Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) The IHRC, which has been described by former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn as representing “the best that there is in Islam”, is closely aligned with Iran and its leaders have previously declared the West an “enemy”. He has shown support for terrorists held in the UK and US, including hate preacher Abu Hamza. Addressing a conference on Islamophobia last December, Mr Shadjareh said: “I am old enough to remember what was going on at the time of the Rushdie affair. We were not organized as a Muslim community. We didn’t even have any huge national umbrella organization. “But ordinary Muslims from all different backgrounds, even those who were not fully practicing, came with the understanding that this was wrong and supported the fatwa against it.” Mr Shadjareh, 70, has previously described Iran’s notorious supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued the fatwa, as a “beacon of light for all of humanity”. The IHRC is mainly funded by its charitable arm, the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust, which shares the same address in Wembley, North London. The charity has channeled more than £1.4 million in donations to the IHRC and has benefited from more than £300,000 in taxpayer-funded gift donations over the past six years. The IHRC Trust charity also received over £20,000 in government grants during the pandemic. The Charity Commission conducted a two-year inquiry into the relationship between the IHRC and his trust but ordered no changes. The IHRC also organizes the annual Al Quds March in London, in which many attendees wave the flag of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group outlawed by the Home Secretary in 2019. In 2020, Mr. Shadjareh spoke at a vigil held for Iranian general Qasem Soleimani after his assassination by the US. He said: “We are working hard to make sure there will be many, many more Qasem Soleimanis. We aspire to be like him.’ He also supported former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Agenda. Sir Salman suffered liver damage as well as nerve damage to his hand and eyes during the savage attack in New York last weekend. His alleged attacker, Hadi Mattar, praised the Ayatollah in a prison interview last week and described Sir Salman as “someone who attacked Islam”. Iran’s notorious Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued the fatwa Mr Matar, 24, pleaded not guilty to the attack. Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, said: “The IHRC is a worrying organization that has championed many controversial and dangerous causes over the years. “His president now being linked to the rhetorical fatwa in favor of Rushdie only reinforces the idea that whatever the breakdown of his structure, no government funding should be channeled.” A report published by the Henry Jackson Society in 2019 concluded that the IHRC is an “institutionally pro-terrorist and anti-Semitic organisation”. Last night, Mr Shadjareh refused to condemn the recent attack on Sir Salman. Mr Shadjareh refused to condemn the recent attack on Sir Salman He said: “The Mail on Sunday seems to have no understanding of the speech I gave in December 2021 or more generally the issues surrounding the ‘fatwa’ and the Muslim community’s response to it. “In the spirit of honesty, candor and inquiry I suggest they organize an event where I and perhaps one of their contributors, such as Peter Hitchens, can discuss the case, and how Muslims in general and I in particular feel about it. ‘
