Serbs halt sale of controversial novel on Islam

By Ivana Sekularac

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A controversial novel about the Prophet Mohammed's life was pulled from bookstores in Serbia to avoid conflict with the country's Muslim minority, the publisher said on Wednesday.

"The Jewel of Medina", a debut novel by American journalist Sherry Jones, hit bookstores in Serbia on August 1, a week before Random House cancelled its U.S launch scheduled for August 12.

"There is always a market for historical novels in Serbia," said Aleksandar Jasic, director of Serbian publisher Beobook. "I didn't think it was an insult to anyone."

On Sunday, two weeks after the book arrived in Serbian bookstores, the Islamic community demanded a ban on its sale. By then, they had already sold 600 copies, but publisher Beobook agreed to end its distribution of the remaining 400 copies of its initial print run.

"Serbia is the only country where the book has actually been sold," said Jasic, adding that his publishing goal was simply to make money but not to make a political statement.

Serbia's Islamic community said the novel, and especially the details describing relations between Mohammed and his wife A'isha, offended their feelings. The novel traces the life of A'isha from her engagement to Mohammed until the prophet's death.

"Private lives are something we should keep for ourselves and no one should speak about it," said Serbia's Imam Muhamed Jusufspahic, the country' second highest-ranking Muslim cleric.

The controversy recalled previous instances of negative portrayals of Islam. In 2006, a Danish newspaper published controversial cartoons, including one showing the Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban resembling a bomb. The cartoons sparked worldwide protests in which at least 50 people were killed and Danish embassies were attacked.

Serbia has a Muslim community of 550,000 with most living in the border region near Bosnia and Montenegro.

Hatred towards Muslims was a central cause of the Bosnian 1992-95 war and relations between Muslims in the region and Orthodox Christian Serbs are often strained. Bosnia itself is split into two halves, one dominated by Serbs and the other by Muslims and Croats.

"The insults of religious feelings led to wars in this region," Imam Jusufspahic said. "If we had been able to avoid them before we would have had fewer wars."

(Editing by Adam Tanner and Sami Aboudi)