Early in August the Wall Street Journal ran an opinion piece about
the decision of Random House to cancel publication of a novel about
Aisha, the favorite wife of Muhammad, on the grounds that it could be
"offensive to some in the Muslim community." Radom House expressed
regret that it "cannot" publish the book at this time.
The publisher is quoted as expressing fear for the safety of
Random House employees, booksellers, and others, should it publish this book.
About ten days ago I emailed the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom
about this case of self-censorship due to intimidation, or fear of
intimidation asking whether ALA has taken a stand or action on this issue.
I haven't heard back, and I wonder whether anyone else has pursued this.
The WSJ piece, titled "You Still Can't Write About Muhammad" can
be found here:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB121797979078815073.html
Andrea Rapp
Cincinnati, Ohio
Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author
and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)
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