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Harry Potter is the name of a popular series of fantasy novels by British writer J. K. Rowling. Six of seven planned books have been published to date, not including the two school books, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. These two are supposed to be two of the school books in the seven original books. The books depict a world of witches and wizards, the main character being a young wizard named Harry Potter. The first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States), was released in 1997. The first four books have been made into films, and the fifth movie has begun filming (February 2006), with an expected release in 2007.
Rowling wrote the last chapter of the seventh book some time ago, before writing the third book (as she mentioned in a Biography TV interview). Rowling has also mentioned that the last word of the book would be "scar," which remains to be seen. However, she is unsure whether that will be in the final draft in the book, as she was asked about it in an interview conducted by fan sites Mugglenet and The Leaky Cauldron.
The Harry Potter books have achieved a profile unparalleled by any other series of books, with worldwide sales exceeding 300 million copies. They have been praised for encouraging children and indeed even adults to read, while also drawing criticism from some quarters. The books are published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (original; distributed in the UK and other Commonwealth countries except Canada), Scholastic Press (US edition; distributed in the United States) and Raincoast Books (original; distributed in Canada).

Accusations of promoting the occult

Some religious groups have attacked the books for allegedly promoting witchcraft or undermining Islam and Christianity. Most of this controversy has occurred in the parts of the United States where religion plays a prominent role in public life. Some claim that children who read the books may begin to view the miracles of God as simply another form of magic. In the United Kingdom, Harry Potter's country of origin, the controversy has been minor.
According to the American Library Association, the Harry Potter novels have been among the 100 most frequently challenged in United States libraries between 1990-2000. The complaints allege that the books have occult or Satanic themes, are violent, and are anti-family.
Some highly conservative Christian groups in the United States have denounced the series for promoting witchcraft and Satanism. "It contains some powerful and valuable lessons about love and courage and the ultimate victory of good over evil," said Paul Hetrick, spokesman for Focus on the Family, a national Christian group based in Colorado Springs. "However, the positive messages are packaged in a medium � witchcraft � that is directly denounced in Scripture." . The official exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, believes that the Harry Potter books can be a bad influence on some children by getting them interested in the occult (see Christian views on witchcraft).
Chick Publications produced a comic book tract called "The Nervous Witch" about two teenaged girls who get seriously involved in occult witchcraft and become demonically possessed as a direct result of reading Harry Potter books.
It has been argued that when Pope Benedict XVI was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith he also condemned the books in a letter expressing gratitude for the receipt of a book on the subject, stating they are "a subtle seduction, which has deeply unnoticed and direct effects in undermining the soul of Christianity before it can really grow properly." [5] (It can be noted here Pope John Paul II was reputed to like Harry Potter and also promoted it; see further down.) However, no evidence is provided that those "they" which are "a subtle seduction" actually refer to the Harry Potter books, nor is this at all clear from the original German text of the Cardinal's letter, which in any case shows signs of being dashed off in rather a hurry. Monsignor Peter Fleetwood, a Vatican priest, wrote that these remarks were misinterpreted, and that the letter was likely to have been written by an assistant of the then-cardinal. [6]. Indeed, the letter appears to have been written by an underling, but was issued under the Cardinal's signature. This letter and a second that allowed publication of the first have been posted to the Internet by Gabriele Kuby, who had sent her book, Harry Potter - Good or Evil, attacking J.K. Rowling's best-selling series about the boy wizard, to the Cardinal.
However, other Christian readers have pointed out themes in the Harry Potter books which reflect values exemplified or preached by Jesus. Lily Potter sacrificed her own life to save her child (John 15:13). Harry's Muggle guardians attempt to keep him from knowing of his gifts, yet he is taken away and sent to learn to use his powers responsibly (Matt. 5:13�16). Harry comes close to death in several stories, yet is more determined than ever to fight evil. It is also said in the books that love is the strongest magic (1 Cor 13:13). Some Christian bookstores even sell the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling is on record saying she did not emphasise Christian ideals in the book because her goal was never to preach or dictate a philosophy of life, but to tell a story; besides, if she had, intelligent readers would be able to guess important plot details.
Other members of the Catholic Church gave the series their approval, saying that it is imbued with Christian morals, and that the good versus evil plot is very clear. The late Pope, Pope John Paul II, praised the books for their message about the evils of racism and genocide. Christian Congregationalist minister John Killinger also argued that rather than corrupting children's minds, the novels encourage young readers to follow the teachings of Jesus. The book The Hidden Key to Harry Potter: Understanding the Meaning, Genius, and Popularity of Joanne Rowling's Harry Potter Novels, written by John Granger, a Reader in the Orthodox Church, claims to uncover Christian themes in its analysis of the story. Granger also cites the fact that Rowling is a professed member of the presbyterian Church of Scotland.
The controversy was spoofed on the television show The Simpsons. In one episode, the Simpson's neighbor, an ultra-Christian Ned Flanders "reads" Harry Potter to Todd Flanders and says, "And Harry Potter and all his friends went straight to Hell for practicing witchcraft. The End." His son cheers and Ned throws the book into the fireplace. Harry Potter was also parodied in The Onion, when an article titled "Harry Potter Books Spark Rise in Satanism Among Children" satirically reported the thousands of children attracted to the dark arts and denying religion due to the books. As reported on Urban Legends Reference Pages, some who were unaware that the article was a pastiche employed it as evidence in the demonisation of the books. The entire action and reaction is recorded on this page.
In conclusion, the bottom line for conservative Christians who are opposed to the reading of the books--the main reason underlying the controversy, is that in the book of Deuteronomy, witchcraft and wizadry (along with other common occult practices) are explicitly condemned by God as being an abomination to Him. They must, of course, admit that the book may contain a plethora of values hailed by Christians as commendable, but they do not believe that their children's sensitive minds should be subjected to--or immersed in--an environment full of authentic occult practices, rituals, beliefs, etc.

Accusations of plagiarism

Rowling prevailed in a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement, filed by Nancy Stouffer, writer of The Legend of Rah and the Muggles and allegedly of Larry Potter and His Best Friend Lilly. "Muggle" is wizarding jargon for non-magical people. US District Judge Allen G. Schwartz rejected Nancy Stouffer's claims that she was plagiarised, and fined Stouffer $50,000 for "submission of fraudulent documents" and "untruthful testimony", but stopped short of having Stouffer criminally charged with perjury. Stouffer was required to pay a portion of the attorney's fees incurred by Rowling, her US publisher Scholastic Press, and Warner Bros. Films.
While no known legal action has been taken, a Bollywood (Indian) film called Aabra Ka Daabra: School of Magic, was released in 2005 and was claimed to have been "inspired" by Harry Potter. The film follows very closely to Rowling's story, as it too follows a young wizard as he enters magic school following the apparent death of his wizard father. Additionally, many of the sets and costumes are strikingly similar to those of the Potter series.
The American television program, "UBOS", could also be said to have taken many of its ideas from the Harry Potter series. Its strict Headmistress is remarkably similar to the strict Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall, and it just so happens that both teachers can transform themselves into cats. The combination of two boys, one witty, the other not, and a girl with remarkable talent for magic, is the same in both Harry Potter and UBOS. There are also strong similarities between the old, wise guardian of Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter, and the old, wise guardian of UBOS in "UBOS", and rather than "Muggles", "UBOS" has "Morties".

Injunction against purchasers of early copies

A grocery store in Canada accidentally sold several copies of the sixth Harry Potter book before the authorised release date. The Canadian publisher, Raincoast Books, obtained an injunction (PDF copy) from the Supreme Court of British Columbia prohibiting the purchasers from reading the books in their possession. This sparked a number of news articles questioning the injunction's restriction on fundamental rights [7] [8]. Canadian law professor Michael Geist has posted commentary on his weblog [9]. Richard Stallman has posted commentary on his weblog calling for a boycott until the publisher issues an apology [10]. Some versions of this creed have been circulated by email including a spoiler for one of the major plot points in the novel; whether this was actually the original posted version and was modified by Stallman is as yet unclear, though the tone of the sentence is substantially the same as that of the rest of the message.

Other analogous works

Cover of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, US Scholastic Deluxe EditionComic book fans have noted that a comic book series first published in 1990 by DC Comics called The Books of Magic, by Neil Gaiman, shares many similarities to Rowling's books. These include a dark haired young boy with glasses, named Tim Hunter, who discovers his own potential as the most powerful wizard of his age after being approached by magic-wielding individuals, the first of whom makes him a gift of a pet owl. Rowling officially denies being aware of this series, and Gaiman has gone on record stating that he believes similarities to be either coincidence, or drawn from the same fantasy archetypes.
Many people, notably Harry Potter narrator Stephen Fry, have commented on the similarities between the series and Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes. Both stories involve an average boy sent off to boarding school at eleven, who is better at sport than he is at academics. Tom gains a best friend upon arrival, named East, who helps him adjust to the new environment (an analogue to Ron Weasley). They are soon set upon by an arrogant bully named Flashman (an analogue to Draco Malfoy). Eventually Tom becomes the guardian of a shy and sensitive boy, named Arthur, whom he is ultimately willing to fight for (similar to Neville Longbottom).
Recent viewers of the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes, scripted by Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter movies, have noticed similarities between its characters, setting, events and tone, and those of the Harry Potter series.
Readers of classic fantasy fiction have noted a very strong resemblance between the premise of Harry Potter and Ursula K. LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea (1968), in which a boy with unusual gifts of magic is recognised and sent to a special school for wizards. A school rival in the book is almost a dead ringer for Draco Malfoy.
LeGuin was not the first to propose a special school for witches and wizards. Eleanor Estes was apparently the first, in her book The Witch Family (1960), and The Worst Witch series follows the same line. A young adult book by Jane Yolen entitled Wizard's Hall, which takes place in a more overtly fairy-tale-esque world, also predates Harry Potter and has as its basic premise a school of wizardry and a boy protagonist with magical talents. By analogy, the mutants of the X-Men world, with their seemingly magical powers attend Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Children, with Xavier serving a Dumbledore-like role. In the long-running 1960s TV series Bewitched, several of the older witches are very like those described in the Potter books, and Samantha Stephens's Aunts Hagatha and Enchantra are explicitly described as running a school for witches. Hogwarts-like witches � one of whom is played by stage actress Hermione Gingold � also appear in the 1958 film Bell, Book and Candle.
John Bellairs's Lewis Barnavelt books have many points in common with the Harry Potter series. They concern a young boy, orphaned when his parents die in a car crash, who is sent to live with his peculiar uncle Jonathan and his housekeeper Mrs Zimmermann. Both are actually wizards and their house is a Hogwarts-like construction of moving pictures and secret passageways. Big, bearded Uncle Jonathan is only somewhat magical, while the shrewder, stricter Mrs Zimmermann is actually a powerful sorceress. Like the Harry Potter world, the series parallels the fantastic and the mundane; combining the trevails of growing up in small town USA with a hidden realm of magic. There are a number of surprising points of concordance between the two series, including a wand disguised as a purple umbrella.
There are also echoes of Rudyard Kipling's classic The Jungle Book, which opens with an attack by villain Shere Khan on year-old baby Mowgli and his parents. Shere Khan is unable to kill Mowgli because Mother Wolf, the novel's mother figure, is willing to die to protect him. Mowgli grows up a virtual orphan until he is eleven, when he learns that either he must kill Shere Khan or Shere Khan will kill him. Other tenuous similarities include Bagheera, a black panther, who, like Sirius Black, is an escaped prisoner and acts as an uncle figure to Mowgli.

Source: Wikipedia

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