The force of intimidation will not rest. So powerful is the threat of Islamic violence that another book has been yanked from public distribution by cowardly publishers.
Sherry Jones’ The Jewel of Medina was due to be published on August 12 by Random House, a unit of Bertelsmann AG. This novel traces the life of A’isha the child bride of Mohammed from the time of her marriage at age 6 until the prophet’s death. But since the book was regarded as potentially offensive “to some in the Muslim community” its publication was postponed indefinitely.
It is paradoxical that Ms. Jones contends that her book is an attempt at bridge building and is consciously respectful of Islam and Mohammed. However, as Thomas Perry, representative of the publisher, said in a public comment [the book] “could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment. In this instance we decided, after much deliberation, to postpone publication for the safety of the author, employees of Random House, booksellers and anyone else who would be involved in distribution and sale of the novel.”
Obviously Mr. Perry, without saying so, was referring tacitly to the protests that erupted in Muslim countries on 2006 when cartoons showing the Prophet Mohammed in an unfavorable light appeared in a Danish newspaper leading to the deaths of more than 50 people.
In 1988 Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses was greeted with riots across the Muslim world forcing the author into hiding for several years after Ayatollah Khomeini proclaimed a fatwa against him.
It is instructive that Ms. Jones argues Mohammed and A’isha shared a great love story, albeit one wonders what kind of love a six year old can possibly have with a middle aged man. As the Hadith points out she was Mohammed’s favorite wife; in fact, “he died with his head on her breast.”
Whether this novel romantizes this relationship or condemns it as a form of pedophilia is somewhat irrelevant. What counts is that in this land where the First Amendment has been defended with blood and treasure, free expression is being compromised through intimidation.
The argument employed by some Islamists is that their sacred doctrines and prophet are being vilified by Western critics who do not fully appreciate Muslim tradition and faith. While there is some logic in this claim, Islamists do not have the slightest hesitation in the condemnation of Christianity as polytheism or Judaism as a religion of monkeys and pigs. Presumably what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander.
Most significantly, free speech and open expression which characterize western democracies are rarely, if ever, manifest in Islamic nations. Hence criticism, even valid scholarly criticism, of Mohammed and the religion he founded is never entertained.
That an American publisher with the extraordinary pedigree of Random House should succumb to the conditions in the Muslim world is truly astounding. It illustrates the fact that even our most cherished traditions are under assault and that bullies threatening violence or, at any rate capable of violence, can close the proverbial door on open discourse.
It is not merely the suspension of one book that troubles me, but the chilling influence of violent intimidation in every aspect of American life. If this self censorship continues the United States will become a different nation and the tradition of liberty we so value will be a distant memory.
What will it take to summon the will to resist the Islamic threats? And where is the courage Americans put on display throughout our history? It is indeed time to respond by saying to Random House and every other publisher, “issue the book you wish and the nation will defend your right to do so.” Any other response smacks of cowardice and surrender.
Herbert London is president of Hudson Institute and professor emeritus of New York University. He is the author of Decade of Denial (Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2001) and America's Secular Challenge (Encounter Books).
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written by Andrew Roman , August 26, 2008
I simply cannot muster the adjectives (or expletives, for that matter) suffient enough to express my utter disgust. Such cowardice, such failing of an organization whose very existance - its very PURPOSE - is to be the bearer of free speech, free ideas, free thought is beyond shameful.
Mr. London is spot on in this piece, and there isn't a thing I could add to it to further the point. The spinelessness of Random House is self-evident here.
The key here, clearly, is the perception - and obviously the reality - that to offend this group is to inherently invite violence. Fine. Therefore, following the triumphant and heroic lead of Random House, the correct way to respond to whatever threats may or may not exist in publishing a book that isn't even meant to criticize Mohammed is to simply back down and cower.
Now, that's the stuff we sing about about around the campfire.
No harm, no foul, I suppose.
Wrong.
Wrong.
Double wrong!
The idea of backing down in the face of a threat, regardless of how imminent it may or may not be, and ESPECIALLY when one of the principal of tenets of American liberty is placed directly on the firing line, is a leftist concept. Period.
Negotiations with murderers, trying to understand the angers and frustrations of people who have sworn to kill us, being able to work with those who value death as much as we value life, taking time for deep self-reflection to comprehend our own misgivings in a world of moral equivalents ... these are the strategies and beliefs of the Left when it comes to dealing with Islamic-Fascist killers.
This is what we can expect if the messiah himself is elected in November. The bigger government gets - and more left this free society shifts - the less freedoms we will have. From banning fatty oils for our own good to declaring second-hand smoke as this generation’s worst evil (behind global warming), I am fully convinced of this. This Random House debacle is yet another illustration of the fact that leftist thought erodes freedom.
This leftist way of dealing with the very real threats of our time has prompted Random House to relinquish a portion of its own freedoms. It has, by sheer fear, decided that its freedom to publish whatever it deems fit - and obviously it was - is NOT as important as keeping their fractured and gutless perception of peace.
Random House, meet the New Boss.
Terrorists 1, Random House 0.
Andrew Roman
Brooklyn, NY
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