The winner of the 2007 'Muslim Writer of the Year', Max Malik, has accused the Muslim Writers Awards of "censoring" his work after his 2008 entry was not read by its judges- despite being on a short list of five to win the prize.
Malik's 'The Butterfly Hunter' attempts to deal with issues facing the Muslim community such as 'the clash of civilisations', extremism, suicide bombing, paedophilia, drug abuse and sexual assault.
He said: "Clearly, the Muslim Writers Awards has decided that the novel is so unpalatable for them that it needs to be buried.
"I'm deeply dismayed that a project like this, which is supposed to unearth new talent and celebrate artistic expression, has been hijacked by the puritan mindset. Yes it's true that not all the Muslim characters in my book are model citizens. However, this is just a reflection of the realities we face today."
The organisers of the award have accepted that those judging the awards did not read the book. Imran Akram, chief executive of the awards, said: "Following investigation, it is clear that his work was not submitted to the judges as it should have been. The Muslim Writers Awards project does not condone censorship, as we do not believe in stifling individuals' right to artistic self-expression."
The 2008 prize eventually went to Ayila Vaughan.
