Mungkin salah satu buku paling kontroversial yang pernah ditulis, setelah rilis di akhir tahun 80-an The Satanic Verses menyebabkan kegemparan besar di dunia Islam. Banyak yang percaya bahwa novel keempat Rushdie sangat menghujat, misalnya dia sebut Nabi Muhammad sebagai Mahound. Sebuah fatwa yang dikeluarkan terhadap penulis oleh pemimpin spiritual Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini. Hadiah 1 juta dollar telah diajukan kepada siapa saja yang membunuh Rushdie dan 3 juta dollar jika pembunuhnya adalah warga Iran. Negara-negara lain segera ikut dalam kehebohan ini. Venezuela melarang buku tersebut dan mengancam 15 bulan penjara kepada siapapun yang membacanya. Sementara di Jepang, seorang penerjemah yang terlibat dengan buku tersebut ditikam sampai mati. Beberapa negara lain, termasuk Amerika, mengambil buku dari rak-rak toko buku mereka. Rushdie hidup bersembunyi selama satu dekade karena takut. Meskipun begitu, buku ini masih terdaftar untuk Booker Prize pada tahun 1988.
2. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis Sebuah novel satir yang keluar pada tahun 1991 menyoroti sifat lelucon dari yuppies di Amerika. Kisahnya diceritakan melalui seorang protagonis Patrick Bateman, seorang yuppie gila yang menjadi pembunuh berantai. Dalam beberapa kali novel ini telah diberi label sebagai "salah satu novel kunci dari abad terakhir," tetapi ketika dirilis membuat kontroversi besar karena tingkat ekstrem kekerasan grafis dan penyiksaan seksual. Penulis menerima surat kebencian dan ancaman kematian. Buku ini masih tidak dapat dibeli oleh orang berusia dibawah 18 tahun di beberapa negara.
3. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
Buku lain yang kontroversial yang berkaitan dengan keagamaan, kali ini terhadap iman Kristen. Cerita ini berkisah tentang tokoh-tokoh yang menemukan rahasia gelap yang disembunyikan oleh Gereja Katolik selama berabad-abad, yang menyoroti keilahian Kristus. Buku (dan film) ini telah menjadi sangat populer tetapi juga memperoleh kontroversi atas deskripsi akurat tentang sejarah, geografi, seni dan arsitektur. penulis lain bahkan menggugat Dan Brown untuk plagiarisme.
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov Jika karakter utama Anda adalah seorang pedofilia, maka Anda segera akan menjadi kontroversial dimana-mana. Tidak mengherankan bahwa novel Nabokov's mendapat kontroversi seperti pada tahun 1955 ketika pertama kali diterbitkan di Perancis. Sang pedofil yaitu Humbert Humbert, yang memiliki obsesi tertentu dengan seorang gadis berusia 12 tahun bernama Dolores Haze. Buku ini dilarang di Perancis, Inggris, Selandia Baru, Afrika Selatan dan Argentina. Anehnya, meskipun begitu, buku ini sukses besar di Amerika, di mana terjual 100.000 eksemplar dalam tiga minggu pertama.
5. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Buku ini merupakan salah satu buku yang paling menantang sepanjang masa, khususnya di Amerika Serikat. Buku ini telah dilarang dari perpustakaan di seluruh negeri maupun dihapus dari kurikulum sekolah. Buku ini juga ada dalam daftar American Library Association’s ‘Most Frequently Challenged Books’. Alasan untuk semua ini adalah karena bahasa rasial yang digunakan dalam buku ini. Sebagai contoh, kata "negro" muncul dalam buku ini lebih dari 200 kali.
6. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Chocolate War ditulis untuk remaja dan dewasa muda. Tetapi begitu orang tua menyadari apa isi dari halaman-halaman buku tersebut, maka mareka protes dan meminta buku tersebut dilarang edar. Dirilis pada tahun 1974 novel ini berisi kekerasan, kata-kata makian dan adegan masturbasi. Buku ini masih dilarang di perpustakaan dan toko-toko di seluruh dunia sampai hari ini, dan Anda tidak akan menemukannya di sekolah.
7. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
Disamping keberhasilan global yang menakjubkan dari serial Harry Potter di kalangan anak-anak dan para pembaca dewasa, masih ada sejumlah besar kontroversi seputar buku ini. Para orang-orang fanatik di seluruh dunia menyebutkan bahwa seri Harry Potter mempromosikan Satanisme. Statistik diungkapkan oleh para ilmuwan pustakawan mengungkapkan bahwa lebih dari 3.000 upaya dan laporan telah dilakukan antara tahun 2000 dan 2005 untuk meminta buku-buku tersebut dilarang di AS.
8. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Ketika The Wasp Factory keluar pada tahun 1984, itu adalah novel pertama Iain Banks, seorang penulis asal Skotlandia. Novel tebal ini datang dengan kontroversi karena isinya yang mengandung materi kekerasan. Ditulis dalam gaya kata ganti orang pertama, kisah ini diceritakan melalui pikiran sadis karakter protagonis Frank Cauldhame yang berumur 16 tahun. Karakter ini menggambarkan masa kecil yang meresahkan dimana dia menyiksa binatang dan membunuh 3 anak. Pikirkan bagaimana Frank dalam tahun-tahun awal hidupnya.
9. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Digambarkan oleh banyak orang sebagai salah satu novel terbesar yang pernah ditulis dan dimasukkan dalam daftar Time Magazine's dari 100 novel berbahasa Inggris terbaik. The Catcher in the Rye masih tidak kekurangan kontroversi dan kritik. Awalnya ditujukan untuk pembaca dewasa, namun remaja banyak menikmati novel (dan masih melakukannya). Sebagai tokoh sentral adalah Holden Caulfield, seorang pemberontak. Mengangkat tema misalnya kebingungan, kecemasan, seksualitas, keterasingan, dan banyak pemberontakan remaja yang terkait dengan isu Caulfield's. Tapi buku ini mengalami kontroversi karena alasan yang sangat sensitif. Beberapa kritikus ingin buku itu disensor karena mengandung "anti-Kristen" sentimen.
10. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell Ditulis oleh George Orwell ketika ia menjelang kematian, novel ini sangat dipengaruhi oleh pandangan politik penulis. Tema dalam buku ini menyertakan Amerika Serikat dan Uni Soviet, dan topik-topik seputar seperti totaliterisme, penyiksaan, mengendalikan pikiran, pelanggaran privasi, agama terorganisir, sensor, seks dan banyak lagi. Novel ini juga dikatakan telah menciptakan gagasan tentang "Big Brother", bahwa kita selalu diawasi. Banyak fanatik mengklaim bahwa Nineteen Eighty-Four ditulis oleh Orwell yang sedang sangat sakit dan tidak sehat jasmani pada saat itu sehingga ngawur, dan untuk alasan itu harus dilarang. Lainnya tidak setuju mengatakan itu adalah maha karya-nya.
Suatu hari Imam Ghazali pernah bertanya pada gurunya tentang jodoh. Gurunya pun menjawab, "Jika kau ingin tau tentang jodoh maka masuklah kau kedalam hutan, berjalanlah terus, lihatlah pohon disekelilingmu, pilihlah satu pohon yang paling bagus dan paling lurus menurutmu dan tebanglah pohon itu lalu bawa kemari. Ingat phon yang kamu tebang harus pohon yang terbaik diantara semua pohon yang ada dan jangan kamu berbalik kebelakang untuk mengambil pohon yang telah kamu lewati. Meskipun itu pohon yang terbaik diantara semua pohon di hutan ini."
Lalu Imam Ghazali pun masuk kedalam hutan dan mulai memilih pohon yang terbaik dan terlurus. Dia melihat sebuah pohon yang bagus, mematut-matut sebentar, namun dia urung menebang pohon itu. dia pikir di hutan ini masih ada pohon yang lebih baik dan lebih lurus dari pohon tersebut. Kemudian dia pun meneruskan pencariannya terus berjalan kedalam hutan dan kemudian dia melihat satu pohon lagi yang lebih bagus dan lebih lurus. Tapi setelah melayangkan pandangan ke dalam hutan lagi dia kembali berfikir bahwa pasti ada pohon yang lebih bagus.
Akhirnya dia menemui gurunya dengan membawa sebatang pohon yang baru saja ditebangnya. Dan diberikannya kepada gurunya. Gurunya bertanya, "Apakah ini pohon yang terbaik menurtmu yang ada didalam hutan ini? Imam Ghazali menjawab: "tidak Guru, ini bukan pohon yang terbaik, sebenarnya masih ada pohon yang lebih baik dari ini didalam hutan ini." "Lalu kenapa kau tidak menebang pohon yang itu dan membawanya kemari?" "Maafkan saya guru, sebenarnya saya sudah mencari kedalam dan melihat sebuah pohon yang sebenarnya paling bagus diantara pohon lainnya. Tetapi saya berfikir mungkin masih ada pohon yang lebih baik dari pohon ini, akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk masuk lebih dalam lagi ke hutan. Namun setelah saya masuk samapi jauh kedalm akhirnya saya tau bahwa sebenarnya pohon yang pertama saya jumpai adalah pohon yang terbaik dan terlurus di hutan ini. Namun saya teringat kembali pesan guru bahwa saya harus membawa pohon terbaik tanpa boleh berbalik kebelakang/ kembali untuk menebang pohon sebelumnya. Akhirnya saya menebang pohon ini dan memberikannya kepada tuan guru."
Gurunya tersenyum dan berkata: "Ghazali, sewaktu kamu masuk kedalam hutan itu, adalah ibarat perjalanan hidumu dalam mencari jodoh. Kamu pasti mencari wanita yang terbaik untukmu. Namun ada saatnya ketika kamu berjumpa dengan wanita lainnya yang menurutmu lebih baik maka kamu memutuskan untuk mencari wanita lain. Setelah kamu menemukan wanita terakhir maka kamu menyadari bahwa sebenarnya wanita tersebut bukanlah wanita yang terbaik diantara wanita yang kamu kenal selama ini. Mungkin wanita yang pertama, kedua, atau ketiga yang sebenarnya terbaik diantara mereka. Begitulah jodoh Ghazali, kita tidak akan pernah tau siapa jodoh kita, kita tidak akan pernah tau siapa yang terbaik untuk kita. Kita hanya bisa menerima siapa yang ditakdirkan untuk menjadi pendamping hidup kita. Biarlah Allah yang memilihkan jodoh untuk kita. . . "
Alpha Blondy (born January 1, 1953) is an Ivorianreggae singer and international recording artist. Alpha Blondy was born Seydou Koné in Dimbokro, Ivory Coast. He sings mainly in his native language of Dioula, in French and English, and sometimes in Arabic or Hebrew. His lyrics convey serious political attitudes and a sense of humor. In particular, he coined the French term democrature (an English equivalent might be "democratatorship") to identify some African governments.
Childhood
First son of a family of 9 children, Seydou Kone was raised by his grandmother, growing up in what he described as "among elders", which later was to have a big impact on his career. In 1962, Alpha Blondy went to join his father in Odienne, where he spent ten years, attending the Sainte Elisabeth high school, and getting involved in the Ivory Coast students movement. Here he formed a band. But, this hobby affected his schooling and Alpha Blondy was expelled due to poor attendance. His parents then sent him to study English in Monrovia in the neighboring country of Liberia in 1973. He spent thirteen months there and then moved to the United States of America to improve his English.
First stay in the USA
In 1973 Seydou moved to New York (and briefly Texas), where he attended college and majored in English, because he wanted to become an English teacher. He had to work part-time, and sometimes at night, and became ill. In New York he met Rastafarians for the first time, and was also able to see concerts by Jamaican artists such as Burning Spear. At this time he was recording Christian music but never stopped writing his own songs. Eventually he got into various scrapes in New York and returned to the Ivory Coast, where he got into even more trouble until he met up with one of his childhood friends, Fulgence Kassi, who had become a noted television producer. This was the beginning of his real career as a singer, and he began to use the name 'Alpha Blondy'.
Musical career
After various TV shows for Kassi, Blondy recorded his first solo album in 1982, entitled 'Jah Glory'. This album was to have enormous success and would become later a symbol of resistance because of the song 'Brigadier Sabari', where Alpha criticized the harassment by the police. Some of this was based on personal experience, as Alpha himself had seen police violence. Alpha Blondy became a big star in Abidjan with his own African twist of Reggae music, becoming in the eyes of his fans 'the Bob Marley of Africa'. Alpha Blondy is spiritual, political and positive just like Marley himself, and even recorded a cover of Bob Marley's song 'War'. And he doesn't stop progressing; in order to reach more people with his message, he chose to sing in many languages: English, French, Baoule, and his own native language – Dioula. Later he also brought new instrumentation to his brand of reggae such as the violin and cello.
Soon the fame of Alpha Blondy spread to Europe. Following the success of an EP entitled “Rasta Poué” he went to Paris in 1984 to make his second album, 'Cocody Rock' with the label Pathe Marconi. The Bob Marley of Africa' traveled to the Island of Jamaica and recorded the title track of this album with Marley’s backing group: The Wailers.
Back home in 1985, Alpha went into the studio to record 'Apartheid is Nazism'. This album was more politically committed than ever. It is a call for the end of Apartheid and the freedom for all. In 1986 Blondy recorded “Jerusalem” at the legendary Tuff Gong studios in Jamaica, again with The Wailers featuring Bob Marley's legendary Bass Aston "Family Man" Barrett. Blondy tried to promote unity between the religion of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. He drew his arguments and inspiration from his own diverse knowledge of the Bible, the Quran and the Torah. That same year, Blondy sang in Hebrew during a concert in Morocco. At this point he was touring continuously. His new album 'Revolution' had a lighter, gentler sound; this was the album with cellos in the instrumentation, and the line-up included veteran Ivory Coast singer Aicha Kone. The album also included "Jah Houphouët parle", a long speech by the Ivory Coast president with only the most minimal beat behind it.
Blondy spent the years 1987–1989 giving concerts and recording 'SOS Guerre Tribale' in Abidjan. This was promoted by Blondy himself as he was distancing himself from Pathe Marconi at this stage. This was not to be a real success but this wasn't going to stop Blondy and in 1991 he returned to Europe for a concert tour and to record his famous album: 'Masada' with the help of musical legends such as Bocana Maiga and UK reggae producer Denis Bovell. The album, with its hit single 'Rendez Vous' was a huge success, and later, Blondy was to receive his first Gold Disc in Paris.
At the beginning of 1993, worn out from a world tour, Blondy succumbed to depression and was taken into an institution for psychiatric help. But as his health recovered he recorded the album 'Dieu' ('God'), where he appears more spiritual and religious, on tracks such as 'Heal Me', about his illness and recovery.
Blondy's psychiatric treatment continued but, on December 10, 1994, Blondy was back with the festival in memory of the late President Houphouet, and later he made his European comeback at a storming concert at Le Zenith in Paris. In 1996, Blondy released a hits compilation and went back into the studio to record the album 'Grand Bassam Zion', singing in six languages; Malinke, Arabic, French, English, Ashanti and Wolof.
After two more years in Paris, Blondy returned to his homeland in 1998, with a new album 'The Prophet'. Convinced his label was too much focused on the international market, he decided to create his own label. Since then Alpha has recorded albums and singles, such as: 'Yitzhak Rabin' in memory of the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995 (this was accompanied by yet another grueling tour of Europe), the single 'Journaliste en Danger' from his album 'Elohim' in 2000.
Alpha Blondy celebrated 20 years as a recording artist, with the release of his CD "MERCI", in 2002 featuring Ophelie Winter and Saian Supa Crew, which earned him a 2003 Grammy Awards Nomination for "BEST REGGAE ALBUM". However due to the political situation in his home country of Côte D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), he was unable to personally attend the prestigious award ceremony in New York City. In an unprecedented move, the Grammy Awards permitted him to send his representative in his place of honor. In 2005 'Akwaba' was released. His latest CD is entitled "Jah Victory" and was released July 2007. It features Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare as well as Tyrone Downie formerly of Bob Marley and the Wailers. "Victory" is in honor of the peace agreement that was reached and implemented in his country in March of 2007.
One of his most popular and successful songs was Sébé Allah Y'é.
Recently, July 19, 2009, Alpha Blondy performed at New York's Central Park before a crowd of many native Africans, Jamaicans, and Americans
June 13, 2010, a large crowd was allowed into a Blondy concert in the Ivory Coast to celebrate the peace and unity of the country, and at least 20 people were crushed.
Blondy has also been an important influence on other African reggae artists such as Ismaël Isaac.
Faith
Alpha Blondy was born to a Muslim mother and a Christian father, and was brought up by a grandmother who taught him to love everyone. Alpha Blondy's respect for all religions and the spirituality he derives from them can be heard on the tracks “God is One” or “Jerusalem” where he sang for unity between all religions in 1986.
Humanitarian
Alpha Blondy (Seydou Kone) was named United Nations Ambassador of Peace for Côte D'Ivoire in 2005. He made great efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to his country's political and physical division which was a result of an attempted Coup in 2001. As of March 2007 a peace agreement was signed and implemented, due to the hard work of many people including Alpha Blondy. Alpha now reaches out further with the newly created Not-for-Profit, Non Government, Non Political, Charitable Foundation, Alpha Blondy Jah Glory Foundation, which purposely and deliberately work towards ending social injustice and generational poverty by giving people the tools that they need to help themselves. He strongly believes in helping the poor (Jah Glory), and also that it should not hurt to a child. The Foundation strives to create and implement grassroots programs at the village level such as the Women’s Self-Sufficiency Micro Loan Program, to teach women who are caring for multiple orphans how to start and manage their own business, to better provide for their families, as well as other sustainable projects, such as the Tafari-Genesis Retreat Camp for Children (Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso). It especially hopes to bring joy and hope to children who have been affected by civil wars, Former Child Soldiers, and those who suffer from chronic life threatening illnesses, such as sickle cell anemia, malaria, asthma, etc.
Talking about Alpha Blondy, people think usually of music and indeed since 1980 he has written at least 17 albums and 194 titles. This itself indicates the great value he represents for his fans. Alpha is no longer an Ivorian star but an International Mega Star because of his fight for peace and unity all around the world. One example was his single “Who Are You” with Ophelie Winter against antipersonnel mines. He has also participated at many humanitarian and charity concerts, such as the concert in Senegal in March 2006 for the eradication of Malaria in Africa (where he appeared along with many other celebrities). He has done much, much more of this type of work in the Ivory Coast itself, especially at his annual free concert at Bassam beach called “festa”.
Best known songs
His first success was Brigadier Sabari. Some representative songs are :
Disamping keberhasilan global yang menakjubkan dari serial Harry Potter di kalangan anak-anak dan para pembaca dewasa, masih ada sejumlah besar kontroversi seputar buku ini. 
Ketika The Wasp Factory keluar pada tahun 1984, itu adalah novel pertama Iain Banks, seorang penulis asal Skotlandia. Novel tebal ini datang dengan kontroversi karena isinya yang mengandung materi kekerasan. Ditulis dalam 
