US Publisher Yanks Novel on Mohammed

Random House has pulled a book about the life of Mohammed due to be published this week, Reuters reports. The company feared that The Jewel of  Medina, a historical novel and love story about Mohammed and Aisha—a child bride who was engaged to the prophet when she was 6—might rile Islamic radicals and endanger the lives of employees.

"I have deliberately and consciously written respectfully about Islam and Mohammed. I envisioned that my book would be a bridge-builder," said the dismayed author. "They had a great love story. He died with his head on her breast."  The company said it received "cautionary advice not only that the publication of this book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community, but also that it could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment."
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