A book by an American cleric claiming to offer Biblical answers to the Sept. 11 attacks was banned in a Pakistani province controlled by Islamic hard-liners, according to a statement Tuesday from the local government.
The book banned on Monday "has the potential to deliberately and maliciously outrage the feelings of different classes of citizens in Pakistan," the government of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province said in a statement.
The province's Home and Tribal Affairs Department said it was recalling all copies of "Terrorism, Jihad and the Bible," by John MacArthur, an outspoken Christian fundamentalist and religious broadcaster.
Critics say the book uses inflammatory language to question the origins of Islam and argue that the teachings of the Quran, Islam's holy book, encourage young Muslims to turn to violence.
Religious conservatives took control of the province after making big gains in October elections on an anti-American platform.
Party leaders were opposed to the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and openly sympathize with Afghanistan's former Taliban government and Osama bin Laden 's al-Qaida network.