Fundamentalist Christians have renewed their efforts to have Harry Potter books banned from schools in the US.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last of the series of novels that have become darker as Harry has aged, comes out on July 21 and is already topping best-seller lists on Amazon through pre-publication orders.

Christian parents who say that the books encourage children to engage in witchcraft are voicing their concern on the Christian Broadcast Network website which has set up a forum discussing the pros and cons of Harry Potter from a Christian perspective.

One commenter on the forum wrote: "This series is truly demonic in every sense of the word. I am protective of my children and I admit there are many things out today that neither of my kids are allowed to participate in or even look at. As a Christian parent I will do everything I can to keep the door shut so that Satan and his minions cannot penetrate."

BACKGROUND

• One eye on Harry

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Sunday Times review

• The fifth element

• Actresses are 'insane', says Daniel Radcliffe

• Potter magic at premiere turns out to be illusion

BACKGROUND

• Digital DNA could finger Harry Potter leaker

• Asda starts Harry Potter price war

• Early Potter reviews provoke Rowling outburst

• Harry Potter book leaks on to internet

• Harry Potter and the supermarket sweep

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

First review of fifth instalment: fails to cause stir of earlier films and feels like a chore

Related Internet Links

• Watch Screen Online - Harry Potter special

• Visit Times Online's Harry Potter topic page

• Order Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows online

Richard Abanes, author of ‘Harry Potter, Narnia and the Lord of the Rings’ told CBN that the novels were part of a "new trend for children’s fiction to be dark, to be sinister, to be anti-Christian, to be filled with occult imagery", and that Wiccans, witches, and occultists were using the popularity of Harry Potter to lure kids toward "real world" occultism. "We already have examples of kids going out and buying white owls because that is Harry’s owl in the movie. We’ve seen boarding school registrations sky-rocketing in England because Harry goes to a boarding school. And the obvious question is, where is that going to stop?"

The CBN forum is just one arm of a nine-year campaign by US Christian groups, which has seen the Harry Potter books topping the "most banned" list compiled by the American Library Association every year between 1999 and 2003.

A spokesman for J.K Rowling, said the author stood by the comments she made when Harry Potter appeared on the most-banned list. “As this puts me in the company of Harper Lee, Mark Twain, J.D. Salinger, William Golding, John Steinbeck and other writers I revere, I have always taken my annual inclusion on the list as a great honour,” she said.

The Dean of Gloucester, the Very Rev Nicholas Bury, who allowed the makers of the first two Harry Potter films to shoot inside Gloucester Cathedral, defended the books. “I have no evidence they have done any harm, or led anyone astray, or convinced anyone to open a coven or to dance naked on a hill,” he told Times Online. “They are moral tales … the most powerful form of magic in them is a metaphor for love, because Harry is protected from Voldemort because his mother died saving him.”