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Launch this! (Except in Jordan.)

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Oct 19, 2008

At a time when a love poet in Jordan faces detainment and possible charges for carrying out his craft, it’s a relief that freedom of expression is winning somewhere. Sherry Jones has found a U.S. publisher for her controversial novel about A’isha, the Prophet Muhammad’s child bride. That’s the same book recently cancelled by a fearful Random House New York.

I’ve already received emails from “concerned” Muslims about my endorsement of The Jewel. One of the critics even claims to have read it — and, “disgusted by the content” of Sherry’s fiction, now refuses to read my book. As he puts it, “If Irshad Manji can promote [The Jewel of Medina] then I have no intention to read the filth that she will be peddling regarding my faith.”

Bummer.

Moving right along, I’m elated to report that Sherry’s book launch went smashingly — despite the weirdness of being surrounded by security. At my request, she’s written an account of the launch for you. As you read it, keep the embattled Jordanian poet in mind…

Never mind the plainclothes police guarding my every step. As I headed into my debut reading and signing of my novel, The Jewel of Medina, the greatest fears on my mind were these: Would anyone show up? And would the audience be friendly or hostile?

Hostility, I’m sorry to say, has become the normal response to my book — mostly from people who haven’t read it. They’re reacting not to the story in The Jewel of Medina, or to its depiction of A’isha, Islam, or the Prophet Muhammad, but to the reckless rhetoric of a university professor who called it “soft-core porn.” Thank goodness that charge has now been disproven again and again by literary critics who are reading The Jewel of Medina.

Since my book had arrived only a day or two before the independentstore hosting this event, I knew that nearly everyone who attended my presentation — all two of them, I worried — would not have read it. Would they, like so many others, deride my book as a “bodice-ripper” (this from a critic who admitted there is no sex in it) or as “trash”? Would they scorn me for my book’s positive portrayal of Islam as a religion of peace and its prophet as a wise, compassionate leader who respected women and gave them rights?

I had already learned from experience that the relatively small Muslim population in this city was no guarantee of a friendly reception for my book. During the brief time that I administered a weblog, I received more angry comments from Muslim-haters than from Muslims. I was just as likely to encounter hostility from these people, who have deemed me an “Islamo-panderer” and accused me of “sugar-coating pedophilia.” These bigoted slurs, so injurious to my soul, played a big part in my decision to shut down my blog.

Escorted by an elegantly polite policeman wearing a suit, tie, and headset, I walked into the upstairs meeting room at the book store and caught my breath. Nearly every seat was filled — more than three hundred in the audience! A few were friends, but, since I’ve only lived here for one year, most faces were new.

I took a few minutes in a smaller side room to sit, collect my thoughts, and say a quick prayer for strength, wisdom, peace, and love — my spiritual cornerstones. I invited A’isha to infuse me with her courage, and I asked for help remaining calm no matter what might happen.

Then I stepped up to the podium and began to speak. “My name is Sherry Jones. But I’ve been called a lot of other things these past few months.”

As I ran through the litany of insults and, yes, praise, I heard chuckles. I looked at the faces before me and saw many smiles. “Some Muslims have criticized my book, also, for deviating from the history that they know,” I explained. “But, as I keep saying, this is fiction.”

Across the room, people nodded. They still smiled. And I breathed a sigh of relief. Someone understood me — at last!

On my right, however, were two young women, college-age, who began to speak heatedly about my right — or lack of a right — to “ally myself” with another culture. I suspect these women had studied Edward Said’s Orientalism, and so were suspicious that my “appropriation” of ancient Arabian culture and history amounted to a form of racism.

I disagree. I approached my research for The Jewel of Medina in reaction to the racism I heard all around me in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks. I discovered ideas about Islam that gave me joy. And I wrote my book for this reason: To bring to the Western world the story of A’isha, one of the most remarkable women in the history of Islam and of the world — a girl whose life was controlled by men, who overcome formidable obstacles to become a self-empowered political leader, highly regarded Islamic scholar, and the most beloved wife of one of the most charismatic men of all time.

I turned to my audience. “The Jewel of Medina isn’t the definitive version of A’isha’s story,” I said. “It’s just my version, based on my interpretation of historical events and my imagination. Whatever you think of it or of my intentions in writing it, I think it’s a great book.”

The room filled with applause, and I signed books for a full hour.

It was, for me, the culmination of my entire life’s work, since the second grade when I began dreaming of writing novels. There, at a bookstore in my city, I connected for the first time with readers. With lovers of books.

The successful launch has now inspired my U.S. publisher, Beaufort Books, to send me on bigger tour of America. Already they’re wedging me into bookstores’ crowded schedules. I’m eager to meet you all.

Buy The Jewel of Medina here. Learn more about Sherry’s fight for free expression here.