UK politicians mock publisher over ban on pigs in books
Angry reactions sparked as author told to avoid images that could be ‘perceived as pork’; Muslim MP calls guidelines ‘utter nonsense’
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British politicians on Thursday criticized publisher Oxford University Press over its advice to omit pigs and sausages from books for children sold abroad in order not to offend the Jewish or Muslim communities.
The existence of the recommendations was revealed during a debate on BBC Radio 4 on freedom of expression in the wake of the attack against magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris last week.
Presenter Jim Naughtie read out a letter sent from Oxford University Press (OUP) to an author warning not to include “pigs plus sausages, or anything else which could be perceived as pork” in their book.
When contacted by AFP, an OUP spokesman stressed the publisher did not have “a blanket ban on pigs or pork products” in its titles.
But he added: “We provide guidance to authors on a range of areas that might cause offence in specific markets. This does, among other things, include advice around the use of images of pigs.”
The initiative sparked angry reactions in Britain, whose children are brought up watching animated television series “Peppa Pig.”
Conservative MP Philip Davies asked: “How on earth can anyone find the word “pig” or “pork” offensive? We have got to get a grip on this nonsensical political correctness.”
Muslim Labour MP Khalid Mahmood called the guidelines “absolute utter nonsense.”
A spokesman for the Jewish Leadership Council explained that Jewish law only prohibited eating pork, “not the mention of the word, or the animal from which it derives.”
The Times of Israel Community.