News	News category

Prophet Mohammad novel hits bookstores

06.10.2008 19:09 Arts - Source: cbc.ca

Pubisher Eric Kampmann says he does not believe The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, above, will offend Muslims. (Associated Press)

As The Jewel of Medina arrives in bookstores Monday, its publisher says he believes the early release of the book will quell the controversy that surrounds it.

The book, a first-person account of the life of the Prophet Muhammad's favourite wife, Aisha, has been criticized as potentially offensive to Muslims and its U.K. publication is stalled after a firebomb was thrown into the publisher's home and offices.

But Eric Kampmann, the publisher behind New York-based Beaufort Books, says he expects that kind of extreme response to blow over as the book by Spokane, Wash., author Sherry Jones is reviewed.

"When her voice is heard I think to a certain extent that's going to mitigate the situation with the fear and trembling that people have on all sides of this question of whether this is an assault on Islam. I absolutely think that it's not," he told CBC cultural affairs show Q on Monday.

"That's what I'm staking my hope on, that the violent controversy will disappear and that we'll have more intellectual controversy, which is fine."

Kampmann, who says he bought former Canadian publisher Beaufort Books in 1984 and has been struggling to revive the label for the past three years, says he moved up release of the book from Oct. 30 in the hope of clearing the air.

"First of all because we don't think this book should be offensive to anybody, and we thought that because it's in the news that I would be sending a signal that I was reluctant to release it. It was already printed, so really the question was, when do we ship it, not do we print it," he said

Most of the people responding to controversy about the book have not read it, he added.

The controversy won't completely disappear because of the book's history, he said.

Random House paid $100,000 US for the novel, although it was a first novel. Then it abandoned publication in August, saying it feared the book would be offensive to Muslims.

"So I think there will be a certain level of controversy, but in my opinion it's not going to be like the Danish cartoons, nor like Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. I don't think it's that kind of book," Kampmann said.

A denunciation of the book by an Islamic scholar in Texas, Denise Spellberg, as "soft-core pornography" has added to the backlash.

"A professor at the University of Texas decided to came out very strongly against the book and really attacked it not only in the publishing community but in the Muslim community," Kampmann said.

But Kampmann said he himself has not been threatened, though he has consulted with the New York police anti-terrorism unit as a "precaution."

The attack on British publisher Gibson Square and the home of Martin Rygja caught him by surprise, Kampmann said.

"I was astonished. I didn't expect it. I knew that this was a controversial book, but it's a novel," he said.

He compared The Jewel of Medina to works of Christian historical fiction, such as The Robe.

"Trying to depict characters in a normal life that have had such a huge impact on history — I wonder if that's such a terrible thing. I know that, in the Christian tradition... it is not a terrible thing," he said.

Kampmann said he has taken personal precautions against violence, but doesn't expect it.

"I plan to deal it with it as it comes," he said.

Early reviews of the book dismiss the charges of soft-core pornography, but say Jones's inexperience as a writer shows.

A Los Angeles Times review found the characters unbelievable and the depiction of Aisha unconvincing.

"The Jewel of Medina is a second-rate bodice ripper or, rather, a second-rate bodice ripper-style romance (it doesn't really have sex scenes)," the L.A. times critic wrote. "It's readable enough, but it suffers from large swaths of purple prose."

Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK

Internal Links

3 charged in firebombing of London publisher remain in jail The Jewel of Medina to hit U.S. bookshelves on Monday

Audio

Q's Jian Ghomeshi interviews Eric Kampmann, publisher of The Jewel of Medina (Runs: 14:06) Play: Real Media »

More Books Headlines

Hot commodity Tina Fey lands book dealFresh off recent wins at the Emmy Awards as well as a trio of brilliant cameos on Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey is now set to tackle her first book.Prophet Mohammad novel hits bookstoresAs The Jewel of Medina arrives in bookstores Monday, its publisher says he believes the early release of the book will quell the controversy that surrounds it.3 charged in firebombing of London publisher remain in jailThree men charged with plotting to attack the publisher of a novel about the Prophet Muhammad's child bride made a brief court appearance Friday after being charged with plotting to damage the offices of Gibson Square publishers.Music critic picks a life list Tom Moon's book, 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, is a compendium of seminal musical experiences from all genres.Canadian Oxford Dictionary staff all laid offThe entire staff of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary has been laid off because of declining sales.

More Arts Headlines

Prophet Mohammad novel hits bookstoresAs The Jewel of Medina arrives in bookstores Monday, its publisher says he believes the early release of the book will quell the controversy that surrounds it.Hot commodity Tina Fey lands book dealFresh off recent wins at the Emmy Awards as well as a trio of brilliant cameos on Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey is now set to tackle her first book.Artists across Canada practising political theatreA theatre group called the Wrecking Ball, with chapters in 10 cities across the country, will be presenting an evening of political drama on Monday night.Glastonbury fest sells half its tickets 8 months in advanceThough its next instalment is more than eight months away, the U.K.'s Glastonbury music festival has sold half of its tickets already.Ryerson hires Goethe Institute curator to direct its photo galleryRyerson University in Toronto has hired a curator at the Goethe Institute as director of its new photography gallery and research centre.