By Catherine Elsworth
The Jewel of Medina, a debut historical novel by Sherry Jones, a journalist who spent years studying Arab history, focuses on the life of A'isha, one of the prophet's wives to whome he is said to have become engaged when she was six.
It was due for release next week, but in May was pulled after the publisher was told the book could be seen as "offensive to some in the Muslim community". The Wall Street Journal reported that Denise Spellberg, associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Texas, who saw proofs of the book, declared it a "very ugly, stupid piece of work".
She urged the editor of a popular Muslim website to warn Muslims the forthcoming publication "made fun of Muslims and their history".
Word quickly spread across the internet, with bloggers dubbing the book "a new attempt to slander the Prophet of Islam." One editor at Random House told executives Ms Spellberg had warned her the book was a "declaration of war" that would be "far more controversial than The Satanic Verses and the Danish cartoons," the Wall Street Journal reported. Read more ...
The Jewel of Medina, a debut historical novel by Sherry Jones, a journalist who spent years studying Arab history, focuses on the life of A'isha, one of the prophet's wives to whome he is said to have become engaged when she was six.
It was due for release next week, but in May was pulled after the publisher was told the book could be seen as "offensive to some in the Muslim community". The Wall Street Journal reported that Denise Spellberg, associate professor of Islamic history at the University of Texas, who saw proofs of the book, declared it a "very ugly, stupid piece of work".
She urged the editor of a popular Muslim website to warn Muslims the forthcoming publication "made fun of Muslims and their history".
Word quickly spread across the internet, with bloggers dubbing the book "a new attempt to slander the Prophet of Islam." One editor at Random House told executives Ms Spellberg had warned her the book was a "declaration of war" that would be "far more controversial than The Satanic Verses and the Danish cartoons," the Wall Street Journal reported. Read more ...
Source: Telegraph
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