Thilo Sarrazin is a former German central banker, soft-spoken and thoughtful, who has for years been observing the effect on German society of the millions of Muslim migrants it has welcomed into its midst. Though he is now inevitably connected in the Western media with the anti-Islam Alternative for Germany party, he is in fact a longstanding member of the center-left Social Democratic party. Even before Chancellor Merkel opened Germany’s doors wide in 2015 to Muslim migrants, making Germany’s problem with Muslim migrants considerably worse, Sarrazin had put his thoughts on the matter into a book, which immediately became a best-seller in Germany. Germany Does Away With Itself appeared in 2010. Many were shocked at Sarrazin’s thesis, that Muslims were making Germany “more stupid,” by which he meant that the low I.Q.s of Muslims, and their lack of education, were causing problems in German schools and workplaces. The mainstream media pounced on Sarrazin; talk of comparative I.Q.s made many nervous, and his book was dismissively labelled as “incendiary” and Sarrazin’s name forever after preceded by the Homeric epithets “controversial” and “right-wing.” But he presented data that could not be gainsaid; many believe his book helped the rise of Alternative for Germany, which now has 100 members in the Bundestag.
According to the Bild newspaper, Sarrazin had in November 2016 signed a deal with Random House for a study — a “critical close reading” of the Qur’an, with the working title Hostile Takeover: How Islam Hampers Progress and Threatens Society.
Random House accepted the delivery of Sarrazin’s manuscript in February this year, but then apparently had second thoughts. At the end of May, Random House told Sarrazin that they would not put out the book after all. According to Bild, the publisher was worried that the new book could “amplify anti-Islam sentiments.” Sarrazin is now suing for breach of contract.
A spokesperson for Random House insists that the publishing group neither planned to “stop” Sarrazin’s new book “nor hinder its publication,” and that the author was free “to publish his book with another publishing house.” That does not justify a breach of contract, and it is cold comfort to Sarrazin, who had every right to expect that his contract with a major publishing house — one with a large advertising budget and a wide distribution network — would be honored.
When Random House signed a contract for that second book, that “close critical reading” of the Qur’an, it was perfectly aware of what Sarrazin thought of the effect Muslims were having on Germany, and of his critical view of Islam. The publisher was not blindsided. What must have happened is that once the Random House editors received the completed manuscript, and read it, it turned out to be far more devastatingly “critical” a reading of the Qur’an than they had bargained for.
For Random House had two worries. One was, as it stated, that Sarrazin’s book could “amplify anti-Islam sentiments.” But it always knew, when it first signed the contract, that a “close critical reading” of the Qur’an by Thilo Sarrazin would “amplify anti-Islam sentiments.” How could it be otherwise? And so what if it did? Publishers should not be in the business of shielding Islam from criticism. The only legitimate reason for rejecting Sarrazin’s book would have been if his criticisms were exaggerated or baseless, his analysis faulty, his use of sources doubtful, his conclusions unfair. Random House offered no such substantive criticism of the book’s contents, only its fear of the effect it might have on non-Muslim views of Islam — that is, “amplify anti-Islam sentiments” — precisely because it was convincing.
There is another reason why Random House, which is owned by the even larger German publishing house of Bertelsmann, would have decided to drop the Sarrazin book. It was well aware of the aggressive, and deadly, Muslim reaction around the world to the “blasphemous” cartoons of Muhammad published by the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten in 2005. In response, Musims had rioted outside Danish embassies and consulates around the world and 200 deaths resulted; there was talk in Muslim lands of boycotting Danish goods; Danish imams travelled to the Middle East to whip up anti-Danish feelings; there were death threats not just to the cartoonists, but also to the staff of Jyllands-Posten.
Of course Random House was worried about the effect on its business, which might suffer all over the Muslim world, if it published Sarrazin’s book on the Qur’an. It worried, too, about possible physical retaliation against its offices and staff by Muslims enraged by the book. These are legitimate worries, given the murder and mayhem that followed the publication of the Muslim cartoons, but if such considerations are allowed to dictate the contents, or even the publication, of books on the subject of Islam, Muslim censors will have won, and the West be deprived of the very information that, right now, it most needs if it is to understand the meaning, and menace, of Islam.
Sarrazin suggested that before the book was unilaterally cancelled, he was under pressure to tone down his remarks — he refers to a considerable “back and forth” with the publisher. He refused to yield to demands for changes in his text, and in the end Random House cancelled the contract.
The question this contract contretemps raises is whether a mainstream publisher is willing to publish a sober study, albeit critical, of Islam, or whether these publishers are justified in refusing to do so, not because the evidence and the argument are insufficient, but because such a book could “amplify anti-Islam sentiments.”
The good news is that Sarrazin has found a new publisher, Finanzbuch Verlag, for his book, which house traditionally publishes books on finance, but because Sarrazin was a central banker for so long, is willing to help him out, stepping into the breach (in every sense). The book should be out this August, the same month Random House was originally to have published it. Whatever happens in Sarrazin’s breach of contract suit against Random House, its pusillanimity will have been exposed. And let us hope, as we have every reason to expect, that this new book will become a bestseller like his first book, dismaying both Muslims and Merkel, and heartening, while usefully informing, the rest of us.
6woods says
While I do speak/read German, English is my first language. I’m hoping to see an English translation of this book very soon. I might even try to read the German version.
elee says
Does Random House publish (any translations of or commentaries on) the Koran? There’s some hate speech they can censor! Oh and……I do so hope that victims of Muslim violence will sometime sue publishers and imams for explicitly promoting antisemitism genocide and hate crimes. SPLC routinely sues Nazis for the same thing and on the same legal theory.
gravenimage says
elee, Random House/Penguin publishes several translations of the Qur’an–including the classic translation by NJ Dawood and a one intended as a piece of Da’wa by Tarif Khalidi, as well as a reprint of Thomas Jefferson’s edition; and several books of commentary, including “What the Qur’an Meant and Why it Matters” by dhimmi apologist Garry Wills.
Here’s a review of his book in from the Washington Post:
“Educating Americans to defuse Islamaphobia”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/educating-americans-to-defuse-islamaphobia/2017/11/10/476bfe86-973d-11e7-82e4-f1076f6d6152_story.html?utm_term=.70d7f756b2b0
gravenimage says
Hugh Fitzgerald: Thilo Sarrazin and Censorship in Germany
…………………….
Kudos to Thilo Sarrazin for continuing to speak out. I hope he finds another publisher for his book. Perhaps Robert Spencer’s publisher?
mortimer says
Agree. In the meantime, Random House should be sued. Their contract should be honored, or they should pay damages.
gravenimage says
Thilo Sarrazin is suing Random House:
“Controversial German author takes Random House to court after it axes his book on Islam”
https://www.thelocal.de/20180706/random-house-axes-islam-book-by-controversial-german-author
6woods says
As per the article, he has found another publisher: Finanzbuch Verlag. They’ll apparently publish it in August. Kudos to them. And as I said earlier, I hope that an English translation comes out soon.
gravenimage says
Excellent to !hear! Thank you, 6woods.
dumbledoresarmy says
*I* can read German..
I ought to look into how I may order a copy!
Never was I so glad that I have learned other languages. French allowed me to read certain books by Jacques Ellul – notably, his book on Israel, “Un Chretien Pour Israel” – that have never been translated into English; Italian allowed me to appreciate the full zip and sizzle of Oriana Fallaci’s “La Rabbia e L’Orgoglio” – and learning German means that I don’t have to wait for somebody to translate Thilo Sarrazin’s critical analysis of the Quran.
gravenimage says
+1
PATRICIA FRANCES KOENIG says
Islamic terrorism is in effect a system of blackmail to get whatever they want…and to block whatever they want to block. I am sure Random House feared the Muslim backlash…that inevitably happens when the truth is told about Islam and the Koran.
b.a. freeman says
Patricia, the most frustrating thing about such cowards is that if they had stood behind jyllands-posten in 2005 and Charlie Hebdo before 2015, people would have understood that free speech was under attack, and most would have been willing to have the State post police or troops as necessary to protect them. worst of all, had the lying treasonous left somehow been prevented from importing so many muslims, there would have been absolutely *NO* necessity for either police or troops!
the traitors of the left have made all this necessary, and every drop of blood is on *THEIR* hands!
gravenimage says
+1
andra says
Sarazin is not the first writer in Germany who gets dropped by his editor because of his critizism of Islam. The German MSM are only disgusting.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Andra, Your first sentence makes a good introduction, and your last sentence makes a good conclusion. But the whole middle of your paragraph is missing. Please name a few other writers in Germany who got dropped for criticizing Islam (were their works ever published?), and detail how the German mainstream media are disgusting.
Susan B says
Mark Spahn, all MSM is corrupt and controlled by the globalist. Hope that answers at least part of your question. What rock have you been living under?
The European says
To Mark Spahn
Thinking about your comment, two authors at least who had been turned down by the big publishing houses come immediately to mind: Rolf Peter Sieferle and Stefan Schubert.
The first one who lectured on history, sociology and politics at the university of St. Gallen ( German-speaking Switzerland) wrote a book which had been on top of the book list of a German news magazine ( “Der Spiegel,” a news magazine comparable to Time Magazine. His book “Finis Germania” ( which roughly translates as “That’s the end, Germany”) focuses on multiculturalism, German guilt cult and its nefarious impact on free and critical thought. When the Spiegel editors realized that his book was not at all in unison with political correctness, they struck it off the list, and a small publishing house ( Antaios-Verlag) finally put it into circulation. Stefan Schubert is another example. He is a reporter investigating the case of Anis Amri, an ISIS-affiliated jihadist who crashed a stolen truck into a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016, killing 12 people, injuring more than 70. His book “Die Destabilisierung Deutschlands” ( “Destabilizing Germany”) contains compromising information about high-ranking German senior officials, the General attorney, Heiko Maas (minister of justice) and formerhome secretaryr Thomas de Maiziere; all of them were somehow involved in the Anis Amri affair, using their prerogatives to prevent investigators from interrogating/arresting the jihadi who had been sent by ISIS. He doesn’t only write about Anis Amri, but also about manipulating criminal statistics, about the non-prosecution of criminal offenders, if they are Muslims, about the slow demise of the rule of law in Germany… I haven’t read the book yet, but I ordered it immediately. I only watched an interview which Thorsten Schulte ( another politically incorrect journalist who is shunned by the mainstream media) made with him. Stefan Schubert says, for example, that these 1.5 million illegal immigrants ( mostly Muslims) committed about 850 000 criminal offences since 2015. Statistically speaking, more than one in two is a criminal offender. No great German publishing house would bring out his book, this is inflammatory stuff. So, another small publishing house (Kopp-Verlag) did it.
Susan B says
The European, your response so in depth and on the money. Thanks,
SAE says
The European ….way to answer a question, w/supporting citations
and statistics. As expected, Seneca Mark is AWOL with a response
and acknowledgement -to HIS smart-ass query. If there’s one thing snooty, obnoxious libs can’t stand, it’s facts! Arrogant libtards will
flee from facts faster than cockroaches from light, but just like his disgusting counterparts, Seneca Mark will soon reappear, with his imbecilic comments, once the pressure is off.
SAE says
The European ….way to answer a question, w/supporting citations
and statistics. Yet, as expected, Seneca Mark is AWOL with a response and acknowledgement ..to HIS smart-ass query. If there’s one thing snooty, obnoxious libs can not stand, it’s facts! Arrogant libtards will flee from facts faster than cockroaches from light (or demons from the Blessed Virgin Mary), but just like his creepy counterparts, Seneca Mark will too soon reappear, with more of his imbecilic comments, once the pressure is off him again.
gravenimage says
SAE, Mark Spahn is a staunch Anti-Jihadist–he is not a “libtard”. His work has in fact been featured in a story here at Jihad Watch just a few days ago:
“Hamas-linked CAIR’s Ibrahim Hooper refuses to prove CAIR’s claim to be ‘nation’s largest Muslim civil rights’ group”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2018/07/hamas-linked-cairs-ibrahim-hooper-refuses-to-prove-cairs-claim-to-be-nations-largest-muslim-civil-rights-group
“Jihad Watch reader Mark Spahn recently had an interesting email exchange with Ibrahim Hooper…”
I think Mark had every right to ask Andra for more information–and The European provided some examples, which I really appreciate.
SAE says
The European ….way to answer a question, w/supporting citations
and statistics! Yet, as expected, Seneca Mark is AWOL with a response and/or acknowledgement ..to HIS smart-ass query. If there’s one thing snooty, obnoxious libs can not stand, it’s facts! Arrogant libtards will flee from facts faster than cockroaches from light (or demons from the Blessed Virgin Mary). However, just like his creepy counterparts, Seneca Mark will too soon reappear, with even more of his imbecilic comments, once the pressure is off him again.
Hoi Polloi says
Please keep updating regarding this issue with Random House so I will be reminded by you and others not to purchase anything from them.
eduardo odraude says
Yes.
Buraq says
The working title includes the term, “Hostile Takeover ……..” (Feindliche Übernahme) This alone should have alerted Random House to the central thrust of the book. As an ex-banker, Thilo Sarrazin is familiar with the term. It refers to a situation where a company’s shares have lost value to a point that a buyer is tempted to acquire a majority shareholding cheaply, effectively taking over a company – even if the company doesn’t welcome the idea – hence, the word ‘hostile’.
Islam eyes an opportunity to takeover a society in exactly the same way: wait until it’s weak, then strike!
Thilo Sarrazin’s stock-market metaphor couldn’t be more apt for the situation we find ourselves in!
Wellington says
Just about the greatest sin of the nonsensical age we live in is criticism of Islam even though Islam is quite arguably the oldest and longest-lived evil in all of mankind’s history, making, a la Obama, even Marxism and Nazism look like JV players in the “malevolent department” of what man has spawned through the ages.
cornelius says
Hugh is absolutely right….it was fear. RH is certainly aware that the Japanese publisher of Salmon Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’ was murdered by an Islamic extremist. But to acknowledge that fear would be a vivid display of cowardice….so they prefer to claim they are somehow protecting Muslims from bigotry.
That fear is becoming all-pervasive in our society. This is why I post my political songs anonymously. Because I too am afraid.
It is the fear of the liberal mob tar and feathering you with the stigma of “racist”. It is the fear of banishment from polite society. But most of all, it is the fear posed by Muslim extremists and their oft-displayed predilection for killing those with whom the bear grievance.
gravenimage says
I was glad when Cody’s Books in Berkeley stood up for selling Rushdie’s book, even after being firebombed.
SAE says
Graven, thank you for enlightening me on Mark. I recalled seeing a response from him on another article and that was disturbing to me. Since I don’t know any different, I’ll trust your opinion. Obviously, my comment kept hanging up …then in the end they all posted. Oh well, live & learn.
J D S says
FEAR has kept Islam alive these many centuries…FEAR of leaving islam (apostasy law) and the FEAR that flows from Islam in the form of Terrorism….and….THE WORLD STANDS STILL
I would not want to be among the most hated peoples of the world (muslims)…(They brought it upon themselves) neither would I want to be a part of the most hated religions on earth (islam) (allowed because it is classified as a religion)
jewdog says
Guys like Sarrazin are dangerous because they threaten the established orthodoxy. Remember what happened to Galileo when he proclaimed his heliocentric theory of the solar system. Same thing.
Susan B says
Jewdog, this is not the same thing as Galileo. Why is criticism and exposure of islam stopped by the elites? The truth is, the last thing that the globalist want people to know is that the Nazi ideology of islam is not a true religion but a political ideology with an agenda to destroy the west and the world. HUGE DIFFERENCE.
gravenimage says
The church never should have gone after Galileo. This was long in the past, though, and the church has since admitted that he was right. Of course, even if his ideas had been wrong, he had the right to say them.
J D S says
+1
jewdog says
Eventually Sarrazin’s views, and others like him, will be as accepted as Galileo’s are, but that may take time. For now, the sun has to revolve around the earth.
James Lincoln says
Thio Sarrazin should consider self-publishing an English version of his book and sell it on Amazon.
I certainly would buy a copy and I’m sure that many others would.
Rufolino says
Islam has Europe by the neck. FEAR in the hearts of the powerful.
Eventually this century there will be European Civil War.
It will start with skirmishes involving ordinary citizens, and become increasingly widespread. Islam versus The Rest.
narahari says
Don’t think so. I think feminine Europe will fold without much of a fight.
Susan B says
narahari, great another misogynist that thinks all the problems in the world are the fault of females. Men of course are helpless and not capable of being any part of the demise of the west. I guess all the globalist like Soros and Rothschild etc., are really transgender females.
gravenimage says
Yes, there are lots of strong Anti-Jihadist women here.
KJW says
Narahari, I think you’re correct about Leftist feminists folding because they already have. Men have folded too, but we have things like the #MeToo noise yet they are not making a fuss about child marriage now happening in Western countries as well as FGM, polygamy, Sharia law in Muslim enclaves which is anti-woman, all the migrant rapes, forced marriage. There was a small group of women in England that had protested against forced marriages. They have also reasoned hijabs as feminism merely because it’s a choice which isn’t feminism.
One woman in Sweden defended polygamy saying it sounds more fun than boring two person marriages though she personally wouldn’t do it. She is of the ilk of her fellow Swede who said white marble statues are racist. Oh, honor killings even in the US and Canada, the latter where a husband killed his wife because she refused to wear a hijab.
Gays in England were called Islamophobics. They must believe that sharia isn’t possible in western countries or they’ve bought into the media calling it a conspiracy theory and rather than be associated with Right Wingers they ignore the facts.It *is* an accurate conspiracy!
Since male politicians have already nearly submitted to dhimmitude then both probably will.
dumbledoresarmy says
From Hugh’s article – “The good news is that Sarrazin has found a new publisher, Finanzbuch Verlag, for his book, which house traditionally publishes books on finance, but because Sarrazin was a central banker for so long, is willing to help him out, stepping into the breach (in every sense). The book should be out this August, the same month Random House was originally to have published it. Whatever happens in Sarrazin’s breach of contract suit against Random House, its pusillanimity will have been exposed. And let us hope, as we have every reason to expect, that this new book will become a bestseller like his first book, dismaying both Muslims and Merkel, and heartening, while usefully informing, the rest of us.”
Indeed. I hope that it sells like hot-cakes. I hope that it whizzes off the shelves – whether actual or virtual (e-books/ kindle, online ordering of the physical coopies) – as rapidly as did Oriana Fallaci’s groundbreaking works, over a decade ago. And one hopes that the publishers are already searching for translators, so that it may be translated into, at the very least, French, English, Spanish – by all means, Spanish – not only for benefit of Spain and Spaniards who have forgotten their history, but for the sake of Spanish-speakers in the New World, from Mexico to Chile, and for the same reason, Portuguese. And Danish and Swedish would be useful, too.
gravenimage says
Yes–I hope this book is widely translated.