The New York City based Beaufort Books publisher that took on O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" after it was dropped, due to the public ire that it generated, has taken up another rejected project. The controversial novel this time is Sherry Jones' "The Jewel of Medina," a novel about Prophet Mohammad's child bride. The Random House canceled its release out of concern that it would anger Muslims and it could "incite acts of violence".

In a statement, Beaufort President Eric Kampmann said on Friday that the novel will be released in October and a sequel in 2009.

"We are building a great team to bring 'The Jewel of Medina' to the audience it deserves to have," Kampmann said, calling it a "ground-breaking novel."

Random House, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, was to publish "The Jewel of Medina," the maiden novel of journalist Sherry Jones, 46, on August 12.

But the publishing house pulled out saying it had received "cautionary advice not only that the publication of this book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community, but also that it could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment."