THE GUARDIAN: A novel about the child bride of the prophet Muhammad is to be released in the UK next month, after its publication was cancelled by a US publisher.
The Jewel of the Medina is by first-time novelist Sherry Jones, and was published in the US last month by a division of Random House, but was pulled after scholars of Islam objected. At the time, Random House said it had received cautionary advice that it might be offensive to some Muslims and "could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment".
Yesterday, Jones' agent, Natasha Kern, said the rights had been bought in 10 countries, including by Gibson Square in the UK. In a statement, the firm's publisher, Martin Rynja, said: "I was completely bowled over by the novel and the moving love story it portrays. The Jewel of Medina has become an important barometer of our time. "
As the story of Muhammad's favourite wife, Aisha, the novel is criticised as being provocative and historically inaccurate by academics. Denise Spellberg, who teaches Islamic history at the University of Texas at Austin, described it as "soft core pornography".
But Random House's decision to pull the book sparked intense criticism from critics and literary bloggers, who compared the case to Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.
Kern said that Gibson Square had been chosen because it of its past experience of controversial books - last year, it published OJ Simpson's hypothetical account of the murder of his ex-wife.
In August, a Serbian publisher quickly withdrew an edition of The Jewel of Medina from shops after protests from local Islamic leaders who said it insulted Muhammad and his family. [The Guardian] By Martin Hodgson | September 4, 2008
ZEIT ONLINE:
''Das Juwel von Medina'': Mohammed-Roman wird veröffentlicht: Ein umstrittener Mohammed-Roman, der in den USA und Serbien aus Angst vor Protesten von Muslimen zurückgezogen wurde, kommt in den britischen Buchhandel.
"Das Juwel von Medina" ("The Jewel of Medina") der US-Journalistin Sherry Jones über die junge Ehefrau des Propheten Mohammed soll im Oktober auf den Markt kommen, teilte der unabhängige Verlag Gibson Square mit. "In einer offenen Gesellschaft muss es ungeachtet der Furcht freien Zugang zu Literatur geben", sagte Verlagsmitarbeiter Martin Rynja. Andernfalls sei es ein "Rückfall ins finstere Mittelalter". Der Verlag ist für die Veröffentlichung politisch brisanter Bücher bekannt. >>> | 4. September 2008
THE TELEGRAPH:
Controversial Book about Mohammed and Child Bride to Be Published: A controversial novel about the prophet Mohammed and his child bride that was pulled by Random House over concerns that it would anger Muslims is to be printed by another publisher
…"that one of the biggest publishing houses in the world refuses to publish a book because of warnings is a sobering comment on the state of freedom of speech in the USA." – Sherry Jones, Washington >>> By Tom Peterkin | September 4, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
