There is a long history of anti-Islamic polemic that uses sex and violence to attack the Prophet and his faith. This novel follows in that oft-trodden path, one first pioneered in medieval Christian writings. The novel provides no new reading of Aisha's life, but actually expands upon provocative themes regarding Muhammad's wives first found in an earlier novel by Salman Rushdie, "The Satanic Verses," which I teach.
The combination of sex and violence sells novels. When combined with falsification of the Islamic past, it exploits Americans who know nothing about Aisha or her seventh-century world and counts on stirring up controversy to increase sales. If Ms. Nomani and readers of the Journal wish to allow literature to "move civilization forward," then they should read a novel that gets history right.
According to the writer;
This saga upsets me as a Muslim -- and as a writer who believes that fiction can bring Islamic history to life in a uniquely captivating and humanizing way. "I'm devastated," Ms. Jones told me after the book got spiked, adding, "I wanted to honor Aisha and all the wives of Muhammad by giving voice to them, remarkable women whose crucial roles in the shaping of Islam have so often been ignored -- silenced -- by historians
Opinion; You Still Can't Write About Muhammad
By Asra . NomaniDenise A. Spellberg; "I don't have a problem with historical fiction. I do have a problem with the deliberate misinterpretation of history. You can't play with a sacred history and turn it into soft core pornography."
The Wall Street Journal:
I didnt Kill 'The Jewel of Medina'
Denise A. Spellberg
Assoc. Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies University of Texas at Austin
1 comment:
I read this novel, "the jewel of Medina", and I so agree what is it with authors just mixing sex and violence and playing with facts.
The Novel attempts to make the wives of the prophet seem humane, it also attempts to degrade the value of islam (without she apparently meaning too) for example she strongly portrays that the hejab may of been just pushed by omar(r.a) and not from Allah for spiritual and practical reasons. If I was a non-muslim I could say i enjoyed it, but as i am not i did not enjoy reading about the Prophet(pbuh) and his wives in such bluntess, most of which being untrue!
However I did photocopy the references she said she used, so gonna check them out as well.
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