Random House Rethinks Publishing the Controversial Book

Random House is pulling the plug on the much anticipated historical novel by Sherry Jones, titled “The Jewel of Medina.” The book was to be released August 12, however the book publication has been canceled because “[the book] might be offensive to some in the Muslim community,” according to a statement released by Random House. Random House bought the novel last year in a $100,000, two-book deal with the author.

“The Jewel of Medina” is the story of Aisha, the favorite young wife of the prophet Muhammad. After sending out advance reader copies of the book to several reviewers, Random House received responses from “credible and unrelated sources,” warning the publisher that the novel may be offensive to some in the Muslim community and may incite violence by a small segment. According to a statement released by Random House, the threats were taken very seriously and the decision was made to cancel publication of the book.

Some critics of Random Houses’ decision feel that the publisher is looking to avoid another fiasco like that seen with the publication of “The Satanic Verses.” The 1988 controversial novel “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie is another fictional tale of the prophet Muhammad which caused an uproar in the Muslim community when it was first released. A bounty was placed on the author by Muslim religious leaders, and the author was kept in hiding for several years. Since its release, those connected to the book have been hit by a series of violent attacks by radical opposers of the book.

So why have two fictional books caused such an uproar in the Muslim community? Dan Brown’s controversial book, “The Da Vinci Code” suggested that Jesus married and had children with Mary Magdalene. The book was found offensive by some Christians, however it was not censored or banned; in fact, it was made into a box office smash movie starring Tom Hanks. Is it a double standard? Are books questioning the Muslim faith off-limits, but Christian books criticizing the church acceptable?

Jones’ eight-city publicity tour has been postponed, as the author and her literary agent are currently seeking an alternate publisher for the book.

Read more about the controversy surrounding "The Satanic Verses".

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