Spellberg sharply criticized the novel from a historical perspective, and also reportedly told Random House publishing the book might result in violence by radical Muslims.

Subsequently, Random House indefinitely postponed publication, citing concerns about violence from extremists.

[3] Asra Nomani wrote about the events in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, in which she characterized Spellberg as "the instigator of the trouble".

[3] In the wake of Nomani's article, a number of publications printed pieces criticizing Spellberg's actions as tantamount to advocating censorship.

[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Spellberg responded in the Wall Street Journal, contesting Nomani's characterization of her as the "instigator" of the book's cancellation.