This isn’t directly related to our normal topics of comics or science fiction, but really I think part of the background stems from the climate of fear created in the often ludicrous and frenzied reactions which the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad provoked, so I hope you’ll indulge me if I seem a little off our normal topic area. In the US Random House were all set to publish the Jewel of Median, a debut novel by Sherry Jones, in August. The novel is focussed on the life of Muhammad’s favourite wife A’isha. The book was suddenly shelved (not in the good placed on bookstore shelves way) by the publisher fearing a backlash from small sections of the Muslim community. Random House subsequently was accused of giving in to a form of censorship, something no-one involved in the world of books is likely to approve of, although to be fair its one thing to say published and be damned, but its quite another to perhaps risk the safety of your staff over a publication and its hard not to have some sympathy with RH’s concerns. Then again RH must have had thoughts on this matter before now and it seems odd they went so close to actual publication before wavering.
The author has pointed out that the book is in no way insulting and actually celebrates the life of the prophet and his wife and that the idea that its publication would be met with violence from some Muslim groups was “nonsense”. Of course in an ideal world she would be correct, but some of us in bookselling remember the ridiculous reaction to Rushdie’s Satanic Verses (I have had personal experience several years ago of people saying that book should not be on the bookstore shelves – nothing violent thankfully, but even so quite disturbing) and with the more recent example of the Danish cartoons continuing to provoke reactions it doesn’t take a pessimist to think that someone, somewhere, will manufacture outrage over the book for their own ideological/political ends, which, ironically, are rarely anything really to do with actual religion. Now an independent UK press, Gibson Square, will publish the book next month. Publisher Martin Rinjya explained “If a novel of quality and skill that casts light on a beautiful subject we know too little of in the West, but have a genuine interest in, cannot be published here, it would truly mean that the clock has been turned back to the dark ages.”
Sir Salman Rushdie seems to agree, describing RH’s decision to pull the book as “censorship by fear and it sets a very bad precedent.” I’m pleased to see a publisher defending the freedom of the press and expression and hoping very much that in a few weeks time we won’t be reading about more outraged, flag-burning crowds being goaded into a fury over something they probably have never read and never will. I worry we will but hope we won’t. Who knows, the discussion of the book in the press may even give a brave indy publisher some decent extra sales. Fingers crossed on both counts, both on general principle and on the pragmatic grounds that if such censorship by fear can be successfully imposed and accepted (in a way we would never tolerate if imposed by legal means) then it will have a knock-on effect into other areas of publishing, including our beloved comics. And once that sort of ball starts rolling it won’t be long before we see all sorts of subjects being turned down by publishers for fear of offence. (via the BBC)
Thu, Sep 4, 2008
Books