Former journalist Sherry Jones wrote "The Jewel of Medina" to try to combat stereotypes about Islam.
"What I really strove to do with this book … is to get women's voices into Islamic history," Jones said.
The novel, a work of historical fiction from the point of view of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, would have been published today by Random House. But scholars, including UT history associate professor Denise Spellberg, warned the publisher that the book might be offensive to the Muslim community.
The novel focuses on the early years of A'isha bint Abi Bakr's life and marriage to Muhammad as well as her role in the development of early Islam.
According to a Wall Street Jounal editorial by former reporter Asra Q. Nomani, Spellberg said the novel was poorly researched, "ugly" and "stupid." Some of its scenes, she claimed, were "soft-core pornography."
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