An Internet new portal has reported that the leader of the Islamic Community in Serbia, an organization tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood, has made further demands on the Serbian publisher of the novel “The Jewel of Medina” following the withdrawal of the book from Serbian bookstores. The publication of the novel, a love story about the life of the seventh wife of the Islamic prophet Mohammed, has already been cancelled by it’s U.S. publisher who over concerns that it would offend Muslims and spark violence. According to the report:
The Islamic Community in Serbia said on Monday it was not satisfied with the withdrawal of Sherry Jones’ novel, The Jewel of Medina, from the country’s bookshops. Referring to the book released by Belgrade publisher Beobuk three weeks ago, the organisation’s leader Muamer Zukorlic said it was “offensive to Muslims” and demanded all of the published copies be handed in. He also called for director Aleksandar Jasic to repent for what he had done. After an initial complaint from the Islamic community, Jasic apologised saying the company “had no intention of insulting Muslims in Serbia” and announced the book would not be available in any bookstore in the country. But Zukorlic said on Monday that this was not enough. “Jasic needs to sincerely repent because of the incident he caused,” Zukorlic said. Zukorlic has already compared The Jewel of Medina with the Mohammed cartoon controversy in Denmark. The Danish cartoons, deemed offensive to Islam, led to worldwide protests when they were first printed in September 2005. “Obviously someone wishes to join the ranks of those who produced the cartoons in Denmark several years ago and it is an insult to all Muslims of the world, especially for us here in Serbia,” said Mufti Zukorlic. The book was due to have a world premier in Serbia, since its US publisher decided against selling the book fearing the reaction of radical Muslims. Jasic explained that Macedonia, Croatia, Spain and France had also bought the rights for the book.
Muamer Zukorlic, the leader of the Islamic Community in Serbia (ICS), is supported by Bosnian Grand Mufti and European Muslim Brotherhood leader Mustafa Ceric. Zukorlic was recently elected as leader of the ICS and previous posts have discussed the ongoing conflict between Zukorlic and another Serbian Islamic leader who has no ties to Ceric or Bosnia. Previous posts have discussed the role of the global Muslim Brotherhood and its leaders in sparking the Danish cartoon crisis.