The world’s best selling magical children's book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, authored by J.K. Rowling has been banned from use in private schools in the United Arab Emirates, according to the BBC.
The UAE Ministry of Education and Youth is understood to have made that decision because it asserts the story is contrary to Islamic values.
All schools in the UAE that teach expatriate children have to give in their textbooks to the Ministry for checking purposes, according to a BBC reporter in Dubai.
There are thought to be no intentions to withdraw the Harry Potter books from bookshops throughout the UAE, where all the novels in the series still remain on sale.
The film of the first Harry Potter story has been extensively shown in cinemas throughout the UAE, and has proved popular among local people, adults and children as well as foreigners.
The exact reason for the book ban is unknown, but stories describing supernatural issues have reportedly been known to cause some discomfort in various Islamic countries.
Another work on the banned list in the UAE is George Orwell's political allegory Animal Farm, in which pigs see themselves as being superior to other animals, and drink alcohol as well.
In addition, Nevil Shute's novel A Town Like Alice, whose female main character leads a band of women on a harrowing march across Malaysia during World War II, is forbidden as well. (Albawaba.com)
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