Random House pulls novel on Islam, fears violence

[Julius Civitatus]

Source: Reuters

By Edith Honan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Publisher Random House has pulled a novel about the Prophet Mohammed's child bride, fearing it could "incite acts of violence."

"The Jewel of Medina," a debut novel by journalist Sherry Jones, 46, was due to be published on August 12 by Random House, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, and an eight-city publicity tour had been scheduled, Jones told Reuters on Thursday. The novel traces the life of A'isha from her engagement to Mohammed, when she was six, until the prophet's death. Jones said that she was shocked to learn in May, that publication would be postponed indefinitely.

"I have deliberately and consciously written respectfully about Islam and Mohammed ... I envisioned that my book would be a bridge-builder," said Jones.Random House deputy publisher Thomas Perry said in a statement the company received "cautionary advice not only that the publication of this book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community, but also that it could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment."
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The decision has sparked controversy on Internet blogs and in academic circles. Some compared the controversy to previous cases where portrayals of Islam were met with violence.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0736008820080807

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This story bothers me.

Now we are pre-censoring our own books in the western world for fear of offending a minority of ultra radicals. With this type of attitude, Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" would have never been published, and Rushdie would have been probably scolded for trying to publish his book.

I am very afraid we may be preemtively limiting our Freedom of Speech not to offend a minority of fanatics in some remote country. While I understand Random House's concerns, they are acting like cowards and submitting to the will of extreme fanaticism.

[LeftishBrit]

1. While I don't know the full story here...

it seems like a very bad decision.

I don't believe in pandering to the Religious Right, whether Christian or Muslim or followers of the Greek God Zeus.

[jobycom]

2. Publishers make decisions based on financial concerns. It's a business.

If they are concerned the book will create a backlash that could cost them money, then they won't publish it. That's nothing to do with Freedom of Speech. There are a hundred reasons that go into rejecting books every day, from poor quality to inappropriate content. Publishers reject books that are too conservative, too liberal, too religious, too anti-religious, or just wrong for the publisher.

The author can submit her book to other publishers, and maybe find another willing to publish it. She'll probably find someone, too, with the buzz this is creating.

It's ironic for me, because I've started to write a novel about Muhammad and his first wife Khadija a couple of times (to add to the other unpublished and unfinished novels in my computer memory :) ) . I always stop, because I feel wrong trying to portray someone else's religious figure, especially when that faith forbids portrayals of that religious figure. Muhammad's every action and every word is considered perfect to Muslims, and an example to all Muslims of how to act. Muhammad's words, the ones that survive in hadith, are sacred, almost to the level of the Qur'an, in many ways. So creating fictional representations of his words and actions seems wrong to me, not just because someone might get mad, but because anything I created would trivialize him. I'd feel the same way about any great religious or even historical figure, from Ghandi to Mother Teresa. These people lived real lives, and to create fictional representations of them, to me, creates lies about them, even if the lies are respectful. But I feel even more uncomfortable about Muhammad, because of the specific religious significance to so many people, and because I'm not one of those people, so I would feel that I was profaning a belief I was not part of.

Not that I have a problem with others making different decisions. It's just odd to me. The author says she spent three years learning about Islam so she could treat Muhammad and Islam respectfully. It seems to me that after the first lesson she would realize that portraying Muhammad is considered a disrespectful act in itself.