Erotic novel removed from iTunes store due to cover, says publisher

A publisher has claimed that Apple has removed Salwa Al Neimi's erotic novel The Proof of the Honey from the iTunes store because its cover – which features part of a woman's naked back and bottom – is "inappropriate".

Europa Editions said in a statement on its Facebook page that The Proof of the Honey was pulled from the Apple shop. Apple, said the publisher, cited the "inappropriateness of the cover". The novel is not currently available in the Apple store in its English edition, although a French edition, La preuve par le miel – featuring the same cover – is still in the shop.

Banned in many Arab countries, The Proof of the Honey tells of the erotic adventures of a Syrian scholar in Paris. The narrator has, she says at one point, "a physical need for water, semen, and words. The three things I need in life. I cannot exist without them." Europa Editions describes it as "a stirring novel about the place afforded sex in modern Arabic society and its relationship to the long, rich tradition of Arabic erotica"; Reuters says that the Syrian-born Al Neimi, who moved to Paris in the mid-1970s, "announces the end of a taboo in the Arab world: that of sex!"

"The author is Syrian-born. Is it too much to think that this might have something to do with their decision?" wrote Europa Editions on Facebook. The publisher also highlighted the lack of consistency in Apple's move. "One would assume, then, they would also consider classical nudes by Ingres, Renoir and Botticelli, not to mention photography by Man Ray inappropriate," it wrote. "What about New York Book Review editions of Dud Avocado, Tyrant Banderas, or our very own The Days of Abandonment? NOPE! All are available in the iTunes bookstore."

Earlier this autumn, Apple censored the title of Naomi Wolf's new book Vagina, starring out part of the title. After readers protested – "Are Apple worried that people are going to discover that 'lady parts' have a name?" wrote one on the online store – the novel's title is now visible in all its glory in the Apple store.

Apple had not responded to a request for comment by press time.