Denise Spellberg

Denise A. Spellberg is an American scholar of Islamic history. She is an associate professor of history and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Spellberg holds a BA from Smith College (1980) and a PhD (1989) from Columbia University.

Academic work on Aisha

Spellberg’s work on the portrayal of Aisha in Islamic tradition is widely cited. In particular, Spellberg shows how later commentators reinterpreted Aisha’s role at the Battle of Camel (656,) where she rode her camel into battle against Ali but stayed inside the litter with the curtains closed, as an argument that women should never participate in public affairs.^[1][2]

The Jewel of Medina

Spellberg became part of a burgeoning controversy when an email she sent to Random House regarding The Jewel of Medina, a to-be-published historical novel about Aisha by American journalist Sherry Jones, was leaked to the press. Spellberg reportedly informed Random House that publication would expose Random House employees to Islamic terrorism and that Muslims would react with the kind of violence seen in past controversies over The Satanic Verses and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons. No actual threats were received by Random House.^[3] Random House indefinitely postponed publication of the novel for "fear of a possible terrorist threat from extremist Muslims" and concern for "the safety and security of the Random House building and employees."^[4]

An opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal claimed that Spellberg was "the instigator of the trouble." The piece, written by Asra Nomani, stated that Spellberg had received copies of the galleys of the novel from the publicity department at Random House, which hoped for publishable comments (i.e., a blurb) from Spellberg, an academic expert on Muhammad, for use on the book jacket. Spellberg did not support the book from an academic perspective, calling it a "very ugly, stupid piece of work" and an attempt to turn "sacred history… into soft core pornography."^[4] Nomani said that Shahed Amanullah, a guest lecturer in Spellberg's classes and the editor of altmuslim.com, a popular Muslim Web site, sent emails to a listserv of Middle East and Islamic studies graduate students, claiming that Spellberg had given him a "frantic" call telling him to "warn Muslims" about the novel.^[4] Similarly, Jane Garrett, an editor at Random House's Knopf imprint, said in an email that Spellberg had told her she thought the novel should be withdrawn, and that the company could face a major threat to its staff and property if it was not.^[4]

In the wake of Nomani's article The Washington Post criticized Spellberg for advising Random House to "dump" the book "[w]ithout waiting for an actual uproar in the Muslim world";^[5] the Jyllands-Posten,^[6] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,^[7] and the Las Vegas Review-Journal =^[8] also condemned Spellberg. Irshad Manji wrote in The Globe and Mail that pre-emptive censorship was offensive to Muslims,^[9] while Adam Kirsch criticized Spellberg and Random House for depriving the Muslim reading public of the freedom to reimagine their religious tradition through the eyes of a novelist.^[10] University of Pennsylvania adjunct lecturer Carlin Romano criticized Spellberg for her "aggressive act" in working to cancel publication, for effectually advocating censorship, and for her "disingenuous" attempts to deny that she had played an instrumental role in the Random House decision.^[11]

Spellberg subsequently wrote a letter to the Wall Street Journal contesting Nomani's characterization of her as the "instigator" of the book's cancellation. Spellberg stated that "I felt it was my professional responsibility to counter this novel's fallacious representation of a very real woman's life." However, she insisted that "I do not espouse censorship of any kind, but I do value my right to critique those who abuse the past without regard for its richness or resonance in the present." She also stated that "The author and the press brought me into a process, and I used my scholarly expertise to assess the novel. It was in that same professional capacity that I felt it my duty to warn the press of the novel's potential to provoke anger among some Muslims."^[12] Regarding her phone call to Shahed Amanullah, Spellberg said she had only intended to call the book to his attention, and that he had apparently misunderstood her intentions.^[13] Spellberg also stated that since the story broke she has received hate mail and been roundly pilloried online, stating that "they are calling me an opponent of free speech, saying I am a supporter of Muslim extremists".^[13]

Religious and civil rights

Spellberg has advocated the protection of the civil rights of Americans, telling a seminar audience on "Preventing another September 11," that, "Now more than ever, all of us need to stand together. United is not simply against violence but for the protection of the religions and civil rights of all citizens of this country." ^[14]

Books

• Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past: The Legacy of 'A'isha Bint Abi Bakr. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.

References

1. ^ Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World , by James E. Lindsay, 2005, p.68
2. ^ Displacement, Asylum, Migration: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures, Kate E. Tunstall Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 310
3. ^ Hogan, Ron (2008-08-07). "Apparently, The Terrorists Planned to Spam Random House's Servers". GalleyCat. Mediabistro.com. http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/publishing/apparently_the_terrorists_planned_to_spam_random_houses_servers_91058.asp. Retrieved 2008-08-10. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Nomani, Asra Q. (2008-08-06). "You Still Can't Write About Mohammad". The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121797979078815073.html. Retrieved 2008-08-09. 
5. ^ Random Error, Editorial, Washington Post, August 22, 2008
6. ^ The Triumph of Threats, Editorial, Jyllands-Posten (translation by Gates of Vienna blog) August 22, 2008 [1]
7. ^ Censorship Never Goes Out of Style, by Bob Hoover, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 31, 2008 [2]
8. ^ Islamic Intimidation Trumps Liberty Again, Extremists need not make a single threat to silence writers, Editorial, Las Vegas Review-Journal, August 25, 2008 [3]
9. ^ Pre-emptive Censorship is Offensive to Muslims, by Irshad Manji, The Globe and Mail, August 22, 2008 [4]
10. ^ "Freedom's Gift to Religion", by Adam Kirsch, New York Sun, August 26, 2008 [5]
11. ^ 'The Jewel of Medina': Anatomy of a Ruckus," Carlin Romano, The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 19, 2008 [6]
12. ^ Spellberg, Denise (2008-08-09). "I Didn't Kill 'The Jewel of Medina'". The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121824366910026293.html. Retrieved 2008-08-09. 
13. ^ ^{a b} UT professor's complaints lead to cancellation of book about Muhammad's wife, by Edward Nawotka, The Austin American-Statesman, August 13, 2008.
14. ^ http://www.interfaithdialog.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=84

Persondata
Name	Spellberg, Denise
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death