A novel about the Prophet Muhammad's child bride has been published in the US ahead of schedule after the office of the British publisher was attacked.

Beaufort Books is publishing The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones in the US after Random House dropped it amid fears it could incite violence.

Three men were charged in the UK over a fire at offices of British publisher Gibson Square Books last month.

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Beaufort Books said it was publishing the novel ahead of schedule so it could be assessed on its merits as literature rather than the potential offence it could cause to Muslims.

Beaufort's president, Eric Kampmann, said: "We felt that... it was better for everybody... to let the conversation switch from a conversation about terrorists and fearful publishers to a conversation about the merits of the book itself."

Random House said it had been given advice that the book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community.

Riots erupted in many Muslim countries in 2006 over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper.

Ms Jones said she did not know whether Gibson Square would proceed with publication in the UK.

Ali Beheshti, 40, Abrar Mirza, 22, and Abbas Taj, 30, have been remanded in custody until 17 October over the attack.

(BBC)

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