Global Citizen Rushdie Reveals He's Now An American

Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born author forced to spend years in hiding in England, told a Virginia audience that he's now an American citizen. Hawes Spencer has details.

Interviewing Rushdie on a theater stage, his friend Suketu Mehta says Charlottesville was the ideal location for Rushdie to announce his citizenship.

"He is a person who was attacked for exercising the right to freedom of speech, and Charlottesville happens to be built by the foremost protector of free speech, Mr. Jefferson."

In 1989, Rushdie was condemned to death by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, accusing the author's novel "The Satanic Verses" of blasphemy. Today, Rushdie teaches journalism at New York University, and his talk sparked laughter and appreciation from attendee Paul Wright.

"He was more human than a literary figure is supposed to be in this age."

Likewise, his friend celebrates the anniversary of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which brought Rushdie to town.

"This kind of event reminds us again that without the humanities we're not human."

For WCVE News, Hawes Spencer in Charlottesville.

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IMAGE: Rushdie revealed that he recently became an American citizen. (Hawes Spencer)

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