September 13, 2008

Now set for publication, 'The Jewel of Medina'

By David Paulin
A new book may enrage conservative and liberals alikeRandom House's cancellation of "The Jewel of Medina" ignited a furor last month - all when a Op-Ed article in the Wall Street Journal detailed how cowed publishing executives had pulled the historical novel over fears it could push Muslim fanatics into a murderous frenzy just like during Europe's infamous "Cartoon Riots," and after publication ten years ago of Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses." The canceled novel, as author Sherry Jones described it, was a miraculously researched "love story" about the Prophet Muhammad and his favorite wife, the child-bride A'shia.Jones, a 46-year-old journalist, had spent some six years working on her debut novel and its sequel. She'd gotten a $100,000 advance from Random House. She'd expected to go on a nation-wide book tour last month for her novel, a Book of the Month pick. It never happened, of course. Random House executives, egged on by a...(Read Full Article)