IMO anyone with a muzz fatwa on them (thirty years old or not) who is not afraid of being murdered any time they appear in public (especially at a scheduled event) is frankly sort of a dope. Rushdie (a student of history) should well have understood that two of the most prominent, enduring traits of Islamists are their patience and unforgiving nature.  

He should have behaved as if the fatwa was just issued yesterday (it is still active @ $3 million).

As Russ recently summed it up, "Having fear of the correct things has kept people alive for thousands of years."