Jewel of Medina published in US
New York based Beaufort Books has published The Jewel of Medina ahead of schedule.
President Eric Kampmann:
We felt that… it was better for everybody… to let the conversation switch from a conversation about terrorists and fearful publishers to a conversation about the merits of the book itself.
UPDATE: (12:15) And that conversation has begun. Ayan Hirsi Ali is less than complimentary:
Ms Jones does not question the morality of the prophet. She does not judge him in a negative way. There is no hidden meaning between-the-lines that will inspire young Muslim female readers to question their faith or the inconveniences of marrying against one’s will, nor of sharing your husband with a dozen other women, nor even why it is wrong to be married off as a child to a man four times your age. In fact, Ms Jones makes the same lame excuses that Muslims make to condone the prophet’s behavior.
(Tip: The New Humanist)
The book does not appear to have received much in the way of favourable reviews:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-book6-2008oct06,0,5528031.story
I have only read the prologue on this site:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94332552
and I have to say that it strikes me as a Mills and Boon ‘bodice ripper’ with the purple prose to match.
That said: it is not for the muslim fundamentalists to censor books or other publications through fear.