William Nygaard Association from 1987 to 1990. On 12 April 1989 Aschehoug and William Nygaard were responsible for publishing the Norwegian edition of Salman Rushdie's novel "The Satanic Verses". This was two months after Ayatollah Khomeini issued the following fatwa against Salman Rushdie and his publishers: Owing to the fatwa, direct threats were made against William Nygaard and translator Kari Risvik, and in the resulting controversy, Nygaard was given police protection for a period. On the morning of 11 October 1993, Nygaard was shot three times outside his home in Dagaliveien in Oslo. Most people — including Nygaard — link the incident
Salman Rushdie that he still receives a "sort of Valentine's card" from Iran each year on 14 February letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to kill him and has jokingly referred it as "my unfunny Valentine" in a sly reference to the song "My Funny Valentine". He said, "It's reached the point where it's a piece of rhetoric rather than a real threat." Despite the threats on Rushdie personally, he said that his family has never been threatened, and that his mother, who lived in Pakistan during the later years of her life, even received outpourings of support.