HELSINKI, Finland, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The Finnish translation of a controversial book by Ayaan Hirsi Ali is missing a passage in which she harshly criticizes Islam.
Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch Parliament, said that the Finnish publisher of the book, Otava Publishers, had asked for permission to omit the passage in which she described Mohammed as a "pervert and a tyrant" because it might be found to be offensive by Muslims, Helsingin Sanomat reported.
However, she did not give permission for any such omission.
At Otava, Tero Norkola, head of publishing at the company's non-fiction department, was unaware of the missing passage when Helsingin Sanomat contacted him. He said that he is certain that Otava did not deliberately order the cut.
The book, published under the Finnish name Neitsythakki ("Virgin Cage"), has been translated from Dutch-language articles that have appeared in the books De zoontjesfabriek ("The Boy Factory"), and De Maagdenkooi ("The Virgin Cage").
