A Serbian publisher says it has withdrawn a controversial book by American writer Sherry Jones because of protests from the local Islamic community.

The book "Jewel of Medina" is about Aisha, one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives.

It gained worldwide attention after the publisher Random House canceled its publication, fearing an uproar in the Islamic world.

Serbian publisher BeoBook released the book but decided to withdraw it because of protests from local Islamic leaders who said it insulted Muhammad and his family.

The publisher expressed its "apology and regret" to the Islamic community in a statement published on the company Web site Wednesday.

The company says the book was withdrawn from all the book stores where it was initially distributed.