Death-to-gays leaflets were for good of society, says accused

Muslim defendant on trial for hate crime says it was his duty to spread the word of God

A man accused of stirring up hatred by handing out leaflets demanding the death sentence for homosexuals believed that it was his duty as a Muslim to take part in the campaign to improve society, a court heard yesterday.

Kabir Ahmed, 28, said yesterday that he handed a leaflet called "Death Penalty" to a policeman and put them through the letterboxes of homes in Derby because he was spreading the word of God. The leaflet shows an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and says that homosexuality is punishable by the death penalty under Islam.

Mr Ahmed is one of five men accused of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation in the first prosecution of its kind since legislation came into force in March 2010.

"My duty is not just to better myself but to try and better the society I live in," he told Derby Crown Court. "We believe we can't just stand by and watch somebody commit a sin, we must try and advise them and urge them to stay away from sin."

Mr Ahmed, who is married with a nine-month-old daughter, handed out the Death Penalty leaflet to people outside the Jamia Mosque in the city after Friday prayers on 2 July 2010, including to a passing policeman.

Mr Ahmed told the court he said to the officer "something along the lines of, 'Is everything okay?' and he said something like, 'yes, fine', and I said, 'I'm not trying to offend anyone'."

He said that he would have handed over the bag of leaflets he was carrying to the officer if he had been told he was doing something wrong. Mr Ahmed told the court he felt it was his duty as a Muslim to inform and advise people on moral issues. He claimed he had also studied the Bible and the Torah to form his views on drugs, alcohol, prostitution and relationships.

The leaflet stated: "The death sentence is the only way this immoral crime can be erased from corrupting society and act as a deterrent for any other ill person who is remotely inclined in this bent way."

It goes on: "The only dispute amongst the classical authorities was the method employed in carrying out the penal code," and then goes on to offer burning, being flung from a high point such as a mountain or building, or being stoned to death as suitable methods.

Prosecutors have told the jury of seven men and five women that the leaflet was "threatening, offensive, frightening and nasty".

The jury has been told not to treat the case as one of the right to religious freedom of expression but as a deliberate attempt to incite hostility.

The prosecution said that two other leaflets were used as part of a campaign to publicise a counter-protest to a Gay Pride parade that was due to have been held in Derby eight days later.

Called GAY – an acronym for God Abhors You – and Turn or Burn, the prosecution said some of the leaflets contained excerpts from scriptures in the Koran concerning homosexuality. A fourth leaflet – Dead Derby – was also found by police but was not distributed.

Four other men from Derby – Ihjaz Ali, 42, of Fairfax Road; Mehboob Hussain, 45, of Rosehill Street; Umar Javed, 38, of Whittaker Street, and his brother Razwan Javed, 28, of Wilfred Street – are also charged with the same offence as Ahmed, of Madeley Street. All five men deny the charges.