Publishing, the Rules of the Trade

Le Licite et l'Illicite en Islam

Youssef al-Qaradâwî, Editions Al Qalam, 1995, Coll. Bfm - Limoges

‘A political gaffe or a bureaucratic blunder?’ asked the daily Libération in April 1995 after the ban on distribution and sale in France of this essay of the Muslim theologian, Youssef al-Qaradâwî. Did the context of the presidential election play a role? The publisher Al-Qalam insisted that the first edition in 1992 was problem free. This ban, rarely applied, is all the more astonishing because the guide to the behaviour of the believer, written along traditionalist lines, was written by a famous cleric. According to the Minister of the Interior, the decision was motivated by unacceptable passages on the condition of women. A few weeks later, the administration announced the annulment of the ban which was due to an error committed in its legal services.