Attack on Publisher's House may be linked to book about Muhammad and Wife

Despite the controversy surrounding it's Muslim subject matter, "The Jewel of Medina" has finally been published. The attacks against the publisher's house are, what I think, a relatively minute reaction compared to the similar events surrounding the publication of Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses", which was also widely hated throughout Islamic culture. "The Jewel of Medina" is a book following the life of A'isha, moving from her early years to her marriage to Muhammad to her development as a leader. Unfortunately, it's mixed reviews have varied from soft core pornography to epic love story about women's empowerment. I think it is ridiculous that someone would publish this book, given the sensitivity of the subject matter. Should you be allowed to publish it? Of course. Freedom of speech is one of the greatest things we have as it ensures us the ability to make our voices heard without fearing repercussion from the government. However, just because you can publish something, doesn't mean you should. A book about Muhammad and his wife that includes physical aspects, however innocuous they may seem, is crying out for controversy. Using a militant religion's most important figures in a light that the religion will dislike to sell books is a disgusting marketing ploy. When taken into account the success of stories like "The Satanic Verses" and "The Da Vinci Code", it makes perfect sense business-wise, yet the when seeing the amount of animosity created between the Islamic world and the publisher, publishing the book does not seem rational. I don't know if the Islamic world will embrace this novel as an accurate piece of historical fiction or not. I do know that given the prompt reaction of the several Muslim individuals involved with the fire bomb that the likelihood of Islam accepting the literature is close to nil. 

The New York Times

Sarah Lyall

September 29, 2008

page A6