A brouhaha in the publishing world is raising the specter that violence seen in protests to Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, or in reaction to a fatwa against author Salman Rushdie, could take place in the United States.
The Jewel of Medina, a novel by Sherry Jones, was supposed to hit bookstore shelves Tuesday. But publisher Random House dropped the book at the last minute after being advised it could be offensive to some Muslims. In a statement, the company added:
Source: IPT News
The Jewel of Medina, a novel by Sherry Jones, was supposed to hit bookstore shelves Tuesday. But publisher Random House dropped the book at the last minute after being advised it could be offensive to some Muslims. In a statement, the company added:
"(B)ut also that it could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment.
We felt an obligation to take these concerns very seriously. We consulted with security experts as well as with scholars of Islam, whom we asked to review the book and offer their assessments of potential reactions.
We stand firmly by our responsibility to support our authors and the free discussion of ideas, even those that may be construed as offensive by some. However, a publisher must weigh that responsibility against others that it also bears, and in this instance we decided, after much deliberation, to postpone publication for the safety of the author, employees of Random House, Inc., booksellers and anyone else who would be involved in distribution and sale of the book." Read more ...
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