The Times of London has the first reaction from Salman Rushdie over Random House publishing's decision to drop The Jewel of Medina out of fear it could prompt threats and even violence from "a small, radical segment" of the Muslim community.

Rushdie, who lived for years under an Iranian fatwa sanctioning his murder after writing The Satanic Verses, said he was disappointed in the Random House decision to drop the novel by Sherry Jones.

"This is censorship by fear and it sets a very bad precedent indeed," Rushdie said.

Random House was not Rushdie's publisher for The Satanic Verses but has published his more recent works including Fury and Shalimar the Clown.