By MARK HENDERSON - THE TIMES
Added: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:00:00 UTC

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6805889.ece


The author of The God Delusion and The Selfish Gene, whose new book, The Greatest Show on Earth, is serialised in The Times next week, has topped bestseller lists all over the world but never in a predominantly Muslim country.

None of Professor Dawkins’ books, on evolution as well as religion, has ever been translated into Arabic, and his work has been heavily censored in Turkey. In an interview with The Times, he said that popularising evolution in the Islamic world, where creationist beliefs are strong, was a challenge he is keen to take up. “To be a bestseller in a Muslim country would be a personal triumph,” he said.

“I would like to see my books translated into Arabic. They haven’t been. They are all translated into Hebrew. Persian, I’m not sure. My books are translated into Turkish and they regularly get censored and suppressed.

“The experience of my Turkish publisher of The God Delusion was that he was threatened with arrest for blasphemy. He may even have been arrested, and my website has been banned in Turkey. I feel amused really. There’s something to be said for being suppressed, it makes people want to read you.”
...
Continue reading
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6805889.ece

TAGGED: BOOKS, REVIEWS, RICHARD DAWKINS