Harry Potter tops list of books Americans want banned, censored, removed from shelves

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LONDON: On these shores she is the writer who waved a magic wand and turned millions of computer-obsessed youngsters into bookworms.

But across the Atlantic in America, the spell J K Rowling and her Harry Potter series have cast of the nation's youth have had a unexpected side-effect.

The author is now number one on the list of writers Americans want to ban.

The multi-millionaire mother of three's tales about the boy wizard have been interpreted by some as an attempt to promote the occult or Satanism.

As a result, the American Library Association reports there were more than 3000 attempts to remove her books from schools and public libraries between 2000 and 2005.

But Rowling, who lives in Perthshire, believes the top 10 offensive writers list contains so many wonderful authors that her inclusion on it as a badge of honour.

Just a few places below her on the list are writers like John Steinbeck, for 'racism, violent language and sexism' in Of Mice and Men; Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mocking Bird, J D Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye and William Golding who wrote Lord of the Flies.

The ALA, which claims to be the world's oldest and largest library association, unveiled the list as part of its Banned Books Week.

Rowling said yesterday: "As this puts me in the company of Harper Lee, Mark Twain, J.D.Salinger, William Golding, John Steinbeck and other writers I revere, I have always taken my annual inclusion on the list as a great honour."

She also quoted American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said: "Every burned book enlightens the world."

Global sales of the Harry Potter books are now reported to have topped 300 million and, together with the first four film adaptations, they have helped make Rowling one of the richest people in the UK, with an estimated personal fortune of £500m.

Filming has now begun on the fifth instalment of the movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix.

But according to their detractors, the book series is to be condemned for promoting witchcraft and 'inciting bad behaviour'.

Also on the Top 10 list of books most challenged in the 21st century are Maya Angelou's acclaimed autobiography I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the story of an African American childhood in the 1930s Depression. Critics objected to racism, homosexuality and offensive language.

Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.

No exact figures were revealed for challenges, but categories include 'sexually explicit' material - the most popular. That was followed by material with 'offensive language', material considered 'unsuited to age group' and material with an 'occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism'.

Also considered problematic were portrayals of violence, material with a homosexual theme and books 'promoting a religious viewpoint.'

ALA president Leslie Burger said: "Throughout history, there always have been a few people who don't want information to be freely available. And this is still true."

An ALA spokesman added: "Banned Books Week (BBW) celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

"Although they were the targets of attempted bannings, most of the books featured during BBW were not banned, thanks to the efforts of librarians to maintain them in their collections.

"Imagine how many more books might be challenged-and possibly banned or restricted-if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society."