BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

Aaron Klein World Net Daily Hamas has strongly denied Internet rumors and blog reports claiming the Islamist group last week held a mass ceremony at which little girls were married off. A video circulating on the Internet (above), titled “Hamas shocking mass wedding for 450 little girls,” purports to show children who appear to be about eight to ten years old being married off in a mass Hamas ceremony last week. Little girls in what appear to be wedding dresses are filmed arriving in cars and then walking down the isle with the grooms. The video and related pictures generated scores of blog postings making similar claims that Hamas was marrying off hundreds of little girls. WND received a large volume of e-mail asking the news organization to investigate. Hamas indeed held a mass ceremony last Thursday in which nearly a thousand Palestinians celebrated marriage. Many of the families involved said they could not afford their own wedding party. Each groom received a present of about $500...

Book Based on Prophet Muhammad's Child Bride Yanked At 11th Hour A racy, historical novel based on the Prophet Muhammad's child bride A'isha was supposed to hit book stores in the U.S. Tuesday. But in a rare case of self-censorship to preempt possible violent reaction by Muslims, one of the world's largest publishing houses pulled the plug on the book just before its release date. Sherry Jones, author of The Jewel of Medina , said she received word from Random House Inc. that the book's release would be "postponed indefinitely." The decision came after copies of her book were sent to stores, her book tour was scheduled and her work of fiction was accepted by the Book of the Month Club (it was scheduled to be in the August selection). "My book is a respectful portrayal of Islam, of A'isha, of Muhammad. And anyone who reads it with [an] open mind will come away with an understanding of Islam as a peaceful religion," said the American author. Cl...