Derby gay death call leaflet 'was Muslim duty' Published duration 16 January 2012

image caption The court heard Kabir Ahmed handed out leaflets saying homosexuality was punishable by death

A man who handed out a leaflet calling for homosexuals to be executed has said he was just doing his "duty as a Muslim".

Kabir Ahmed, 28, is one of five Muslim men on trial for stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation at Derby Crown Court.

The leaflet, named The Death Penalty?, was one of three distributed in Derby ahead of a gay pride event in 2010.

The literature was described in court as "frightening and threatening".

Mr Ahmed, of Madeley Street, Derby, admitted giving the leaflet to people outside the city's Jamia Mosque as well as putting them through letterboxes.

'Better society'

Its cover featured a mannequin hanging from a noose and said homosexuality was punishable by death under Islam.

However, he denied the leaflets had been created to spread hatred against gay people.

He said: "My intention was to do my duty as a Muslim, to inform people of God's word and to give the message on what God says about homosexuality.

"My duty is not just to better myself but to try and better the society I live in.

"We believe we can't just stand by and watch somebody commit a sin. We must try and advise them to stay away from sin."

The group produced and distributed two other leaflets, called God Abhors You and Turn Or Burn.

A fourth leaflet, called Dead Derby, was found but not circulated.

The four other men, 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, also deny the charges.

The trial continues.