Spiked Book Based on Prophet Muhammad's Child Bride Finds New Publisher

NEW YORK – The racy, historical novel based on the Prophet Muhammad's child bride that Random House pulled the plug on last month will finally be released, the book's new publisher told FOXNews.com.

Sherry Jones' controversial work, "The Jewel of Medina," will be released in Great Britain next month by Gibson Square, said the company's director, Martin Rynja.

• Click here to read the prologue to "The Jewel of Medina."

"She's written about a beautiful subject and she's written about it in a way that shows nothing but the greatest respect for the Muslim religion," Rynja said. "If such a book cannot be published then we're back in the dark ages."

The Associated Press reported that the book also would be published in the United States, though details of those plans weren't immediately clear.

Random House last month decided to postpone Jones' book indefinitely just weeks before its scheduled release date because of fears of violent reaction by Islamic extremists.

Considered a rare case of self-censorship in the U.S., Random House said it made its decision after consulting with security experts and scholars of Islam. One Muslim scholar who was given advanced copies of the book said "The Jewel of Medina" turned the "sacred story" of Muhammad's child bride, Aisha, into "soft core pornography."

Jones told FOXNews.com that she questioned the publishing house's 11th-hour balk.

"By saying that Muslims will be violent, that they can't intelligently discuss this book, it's disrespectful to Muslims," Jones said. "To me, it feels racist for them to say that someone will try to attack them, that someone will try to go after me."

Jones said Random House broke her contract after paying her a $100,000 advance and allowing her to seek another publisher.

Gibson Square would not say how much it had paid to acquire the rights to "The Jewel of Medina."

"We made a compelling offer but it's not just about the money. It's about the publishing program you put together — that you publish it well and allow the author to get her point across in best possible way," Rynja said, adding, "It was one of the highest advance we've paid here for a book."

Gibson Square also published Republican presidential candidate John McCain's book, Hard Call, which was released in the U.K. in April.

Rynja said "The Jewel of Medina," which Jones described as an effort to bring out the human elements of Islamic history, would be published "as is," and that altering content to make it less controversial would be "against the spirit of the exercise."

A series of cartoons that depicted the image of the Prophet Mohammad, which is deemed offensive to Islam, were published in Denmark, leading to worldwide protests when they were first printed in September 2005. Last winter, also in the Netherlands, there were protests when a Dutch lawmaker released a controversial, anti-Islamic film.

After the October British release, Gibson Square hopes to roll out releases in Australia and New Zealand.

"We think it's definitely a book that people of all religions will find fascinating and that the discussion of will lead to greater understanding," Rynja said. "We are getting support from people who are Muslims themselves who think it's an excellent way to broaden understanding of their culture."