FILE - Author Salman Rushdie attends the 2023 PEN America Literary Gala Thursday, May 18, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

MAYVILLE – Opening arguments of a trial for a New Jersey man accused of attempting to kill a world-renown author begins Monday.

This past week, a jury made up of 12 people and four alternates was seated for the trial of Hadi Matar. Matar is accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie a dozen times during an appearance at Chautauqua Institution in August, 2022.

Rushdie, the victim of the attack, is the author of several books, including “The Satanic Verses,” which was published in 1988. “The Satanic Verses” has been banned in Iran since it was published, as many Muslims consider it to be blasphemous. A year after it was banned, Iran’s late leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s death.

This trial has been delayed multiple times.

The last time it was scheduled to go to trial was in October. It was delayed due to a request by the defense to have the trial moved out of Chautauqua County, which was later denied.