Belgrade- A Serbian Muslim political leader welcomed a decision by a Belgrade publisher to withdraw the translation of a controversial book by an American author on Islam's prophet Mohammed.

Publisher Beobook said Saturday it was pulling the title Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones, from the shelves following protests by the Islamic community and a Muslim party.

"It is a good move to lower tensions in multi-confessional Serbia," a top official of the Sandzak Democratic Party, Mirsad Jusufovic, told Beta news agency.

Sandzak is a region straddling south-western Serbia and eastern Montenegro with a dominant Muslim, or Bosniak, population.

"If art offends anybody's religious feelings, then members of that confession should ... not be jeopardized," he said.

But Esad Dzudzevic of the Bosniak Party for European Sandzak, said the book was unimportant.

"There is no ... book which can significantly influence (anybody's) interpretation and emotions in relation to certain values," he said, stressing that he opposed bans and supported the opening of "all, including religious, topics."

Jewel of Medina describes the Muslim Prophet Mohammed's relationship with his favourite wife, Aisha. Serbia's Islamic leaders strongly protested the publication of the book when it was announced, accusing Beobook of desecrating Mohammed and his family.

The Serbian translation was to be the first worldwide following the publication of the book in the US. US publisher Random House withdrew the book from the US market at the beginning of the month following protests from Muslims. (dpa)