Write your own Jewel of Medina

8 Jan 2009 | Uncategorized

Author Sherry Jones’s novel about Mohammed’s wife Aisha, The Jewel of Medina, sparked considerable controversy last year, culminating in an attack on her UK publisher’s house.

Jones has decided to start the new year with an interesting proposal for critics and fans alike:

Amid the controversy surrounding my novel The Jewel of Medina, I have heard, and read, various interpretations of the life of A’isha bint Abi Bakr, the youngest and most beloved wife in the Prophet Muhammad’s harim.

I’ve read stories of her piety, her strength, her mischievousness, and her devotion to Islam and to her husband. And I’ve realized how frustrating some Muslims, especially women, must feel to have this beloved woman’s story told by a non-Muslim.

I have always said that The Jewel of Medina is only one interpretation of A’isha’s life and personality. I have said that I hope others will write their own A’isha stories. Now I want to provide a place for those stories to be told.

My newly created website, www.authorsherryjones.com, offers an opportunity for anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, to write his or her own stories about A’isha. Simply click on “Join the Conversation” and follow the instructions, then post your impressions of her, your favorite hadith, your arguments over my portrayal of her, or anything else you care to say about A’isha.

The resulting forum will be available to all to see, and for anyone to post on their own websites or weblogs. I hope you will publicize this opportunity so everyone can join the conversation about this great lady.

Indian editor held on defamation charges

7 Jan 2009 | News

BV Seetaram, chairman and chief editor of Chitra Publications, whose primary publication is the Mangalore-based newspaper Karavali, has been arrested in the district of Udupi, Karnataka. Seetaram’s detention relates to defamation charges filed in March 2007, when he and his wife were arrested for fomenting animosity on grounds of religion.

Read more here

'Any journalist who enters Gaza becomes a fig leaf and front for the Hamas terror organization'

7 Jan 2009 | Uncategorized

…so says Daniel Seaman of the Israeli government press office.

Writing in the New York Times, Ethan Bronner postulates that this attitude may have its roots in Israel’s 2006 conflict with Hezbollah. Then, domestic and international journalists were given pretty much free reign, and now many in the IDF see this as a contributing factor in the failure of the campaign.

The IDF should, in theory, be allowing some journalists in to Gaza. An agreement was reached with the Foreign Press Association in which six randomly selected foreign reporters would be allowed across the border (as well as two selected by Israel). However, despite the arrangement, no-one has been allowed through. This morning, Israel’s ambassador in London, Ron Prosor, claimed the delay had been due to ‘infighting’ in the FPA, a charge the association strongly denies.

Pinter: blowing up the media

5 Jan 2009 | Magazine


In 1992, Harold Pinter talked to Index on Censorship editor Andrew Graham-Yooll about his struggle to publish ‘obscene words to describe obscene acts and obscene attitudes’. Indexoncensorship.org here reproduces the article.
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