Novelist, journalist and former Independent Record Reporter Sherry Jones will be in Helena Thursday to present a lecture on her controversial book "The Jewel of Medina."

Jones was invited to speak at Carroll College after professor Barry Ferst learned that the book's initial publisher, Random House, dropped Jones because of concerns "The Jewel of Medina" would offend Muslims and could, according to Random House, "incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment."

In fact, a fire was started in the building housing the book's publisher in Great Britain by people opposed to the publication.

Those incidents led to a whirlwind of world-wide publicity, even before the novel was publicshed, with Salman Rushdie, author of "The Satanic Verses," calling Random House's action "censorship by fear."

The Washington Post, The New York Times and The New Republic, as well as newspapers and magazines throughout the world, carried stories about the controversy.

The book eventually was published in Serbia, Germany, Denmark and Italy, and also was picked up by Beaufort Books, which started offering "The Jewel of Medina" for sale in the United States in October. At this point, 20 publishers worldwide have shown interest in it.

"When I heard of Jones' book and the controversy surrounding its publication, I knew this book and the presence of its author in Helena would provide an excellent opportunity for my students and the community to consider inter- and inner-religious conflicts and literary censorship," said Ferst, who teaches "Islam: Philosophy and Culture," among other courses at Carroll. "It is valuable to the public to see the struggles an author goes through in producing an historical work that may have a profound impact on a current geo-political situation."

Jones remains amazed at the hubbub surrounding her book.

"As an author, you expect criticism or bad reviews, but some of the stuff was so off the wall and so unfair; I never expected it, especially from people who hadn't read the book," Jones said.

She started working on the first draft in the winter of 2002, partly in response to the anti-Muslim rhetoric after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. At the time, she was attending the University of Montana in Missoula and working part time at the Missoulian newspaper.

"I heard a radio essay by a Muslim woman that was very moving. She ended up saying that because of the treatment of women under Islam, she had to give up her religious faith," Jones said Tuesday, speaking by telephone from her home in Spokane. "I thought that was just terrible. I thought something like that could happen in Christianity, if the fundamentalist faction of Christianity really took hold and turned back the clock on women's rights."

As Jones began looking into the role of women and Islam, she read stories of the Prophet Muhammad, who Muslim's believe was the messenger of God, whom they call Allah.

She learned Muhammad had nine wives and four concubines, but could find few works translated into English that told of their lives.

Jones was particularly intrigued with A'isha bint Abi Bakr, who was born in 613 A.D. and engaged at age 6 to Muhammad, who was more than eight times her age. She became his favorite wife and after his death, led troops in the first Islamic civil war.

"I felt a lot of compassion for this young girl, the fact that this young girl grew up to be an amazingly strong, powerful woman. I was curious how that happened," Jones said. "She went from being a girl controlled by men to a uniquely self-empowered woman."

Jones used her 28 years in journalism to unearth as much information as she could, then based her fictionalized version of A'isha's life on those facts. Six years and seven rewrites later, the book finally was published.

She's quick to note that this is a fictional novel, made up in her mind about what it would be like to be a young girl married to a much older, powerful man, and living in a house with 11 other women vying for his attention.

The book portrays A'isha as a willful child initially focusing only on her own wants and needs initially but eventually growing and evolving into the mature woman who became a prominent figure in early Islam.

Since the book's release, it's been called everything from a "flawed jewel" to a "jewel of a story." Some reviewers call it "solid historical fiction" and say A'isha is an unforgettable character, while others say it's riddled with inaccuracies, distorting and sensationalizing history in order to get people to read the novel.

Even with all the controversy, Jones enjoyed writing "The Jewel of Medina" and already has penned the sequel, about the life of A'isha's and other early Islamic figures after Muhammad's death. It's slated for publication in 2009.

"(A'isha) was a remarkable heroine in Muslim literature," Jones said. "For me, A'isha was, and has been, throughout all the stress and difficulties of the past few months, an example and an inspiration."

Jones' talk, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Carroll College Campus Center, located at 1601 N. Benton Ave.

Reporter Eve Byron: 447-4076 or eve.byron@helenair.com