Serbia’s two main Muslim organisations are divided over a controversial book that has been withdrawn from sale.
‘The Jewel of Medina’ written by Sherry Jones has been withdrawn from bookshops after the Islamic Community organisation complained about its content.
The group’s mufti Muamer Zukorlic said the book was an insult to Muslims and asked the Belgrade publisher Beobuk to withdraw it from the market.
Beobuk’s director Aleksandar Jasic later apologised and the book was withdrawn.
However, The Islamic Community of Serbia, mufti Adem Ziklic on Tuesday said Zukorlic just wanted to represent himself as the sole representative of all Muslims in the country.
“This way Zukorlic has imposed himself as the only protector of Islam and causing this much stir over the book will only result in a bigger demand for the novel.
“I doubt that the mufti has read the book and it seems he is acquainted only with the parts which directly refer to scenes from the Koran (the Muslim holy book),” Ziklic said.
Even though Zukorlic asked Beobuk’s director to repent for what he had done, he consulted with the Centre of Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and stated on Monday evening that Muslims were satisfied with his apology.
“I expect that no one will ever again with any publication insult Muslim sanctity. The Jewel of Medina will not have its second edition,” Zukorlic said.
Publishers and writers from Serbia disagree over the decision to withdraw the book from sale.
Belgrade publicist Teofil Pancic told local media that no religious community should be able to intervene in this kind of issue.
“If someone regards the prophet Mohammed as a saint, one cannot force others to have the same symbol of faith,” he said.
“Literature is fiction and if someone does not want to read the book, it should just be his choice and nothing more.”
Meanwhile, author Sherry Jones went public saying she did not want to be offensive, but instead wanted to show a love story about one of Islam’s most revered women, Aisha.
The novel is a love story about the life of Aisha, the seventh wife of the Islam prophet Mohammed, and follows her life from her betrothal to the prophet when she was six-years-old.
According to the novel, Aisha was Mohammed’s favourite wife and he died in her arms.
Jones said she had put a lot of effort into researching her life and her relationship with the prophet.