Saudi bookstores pull Trump books off shelves over offensive comments about Muslims

Saudi Arabia-based retail chain Jarir Bookstore has removed books written by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump from its shelves, it said on Tuesday, part of a backlash against his proposal to stop Muslims from entering the United States.

Jarir, part of one of the Gulf kingdom's biggest retailers, Jarir Marketing Co, announced the move in a Twitter response to another user's call for a boycott of the Republican front-runner's books.

"Jarir Bookstore sells books by Donald Trump, who is known for making comments offensive to Muslims and Islam. We ask them please to remove them," wrote Saudi user Mogatah on Dec. 19, along with a photo of the Arabic-language edition of Trump's 2009 book "Think Like a Champion."

"The copies have been removed, we thank you for your comment," Jarir replied, three days later.

The move continues the backlash against the Republican front-runner's business interests in the Middle East, where his brand has grown toxic as a result of his anti-Muslim comments.

On Dec. 9, Dubai-based retailer Landmark halted sales of Trump merchandise at its Lifestyle stores, which had been selling Trump-branded lamps, mirrors and jewelry boxes throughout the Gulf region.

The following day, a Dubai real estate firm building a $6 billion golf complex with Donald Trump stripped the property of his and his daughter's images, replacing them with generic photos of the project's planned homes.

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad, Writing by Katie Paul Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)