File photo Salman Rushdie is seen in an undated photo with his girlfriend. image:30801:1::0

Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday bestowed knighthood, a royal honor in the United Kingdom, on Salman Rushdie.

Salman Rushdie, 61, was knighted for his exemplary work in literature.

Knighthood for Rushdie was first announced in the Queen’s birthday honors list in June of last year. As soon as it was announced, the royal family received scathing attacks from Muslim countries and organizations.

Al-Qaeda’s Ayman al-Zawahiri warned the terror network will retaliate against Britain’s decision to give the knighthood to Rushdie.

A Pakistani official implied this award justified suicide bombings.

But British government officials remained committed to going forward with this knighthood and apologized to others if they felt upset by the decision. They said the honor was given to Rushdie for his lifelong body of work in English literature.

When the knighthood was announced, Rushdie was overjoyed, saying in a press release statement:

"I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honor and am very grateful that my work has been recognized in this way."

Rushdie was originally born in India but was raised in Britain as a Sunni Muslim. In 1989, Iran issued a fatwa calling for his death over his controversial novel “The Satanic Verses.” It also triggered worldwide protests from other countries.

Rushdie has been living in seclusion but recently was seen attending many functions worldwide.

Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" was also recently considered for the "Best of the Booker Prize," and is expected to win the title.