I don't know if you remember this ... but from MSNBC:
The release of The Kite Runner has been delayed six weeks because of fears for the safety of three of the movies Afghan child actors, Paramount Vantage, which is distributing the film, said Thursday.
As violence has escalated in Kabul, Afghanistan, concerns have mounted that the nature of some scenes in The Kite Runner could prompt violence against three of the young boys starring in the film. In the film, based on the 2003 best-selling novel by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini, the storys main character witnesses an incident with his friend but does nothing to stop it.
The Kite Runner, originally scheduled to come out Nov. 2, will now be released Dec. 14 while the three boys Zekiria Ebrahimi, Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada and Ali Danish Bakhty Ari are removed from Kabul. Its feared that when the film is released, pirated DVDs could spread in Kabul, where those culturally offended could react violently to seeing such a scene.
and I found this on Wikipedia:
The scene has been depicted in a less harrowing manner than originally planned: there is no nudity in it, not even underpants are exposed; an attack is shown, and an aspect is suggested only very briefly at the end of the scene, by a trousers buckle being undone, trousers being tugged slightly down, and unzipping a fly. Even for that a body double was used.[4]
I agree that this book was rather moving. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was really impacted by it.