If anyone needs more proof about how backwards and reactionary the book-publishing industry can be, here it is. Yesterday, an opinion piece in the WSJ discussed the indefinite postponement of Sherry Jones' historical novel about the child bride of Muhammad, The Jewel of Medina. Random House "feared the book would become a new Satanic Verses, the Salman Rushdie novel of 1988 that led to death threats, riots and the murder of the book's Japanese translator." What made them think that? Oh, because one American academic didn't like it. After Islamic studies professor Denise Spellberg spread the word about how allegedly "racy" the book was, a couple Muslim bloggers went wild (without having read the book.) Spellberg also phoned an editor at Random House imprint Knopf, warning her that widespread violence might occur. (Fun fact: Spellberg also has a Knopf book contract!) Apparently, in these fear-mongering times, it's just that easy to kill a book. (Ms. Jones is shopping it around for a new publisher.)