The best-selling French novelist Michel Houellebecq, who recently told an interviewer that Islam was a "dumb" religion, is to appear in court to face charges of inciting religious hatred, an attorney acting for Muslim authorities in France said.
Lawyer Chems Hafiz said a Paris court was due to hear the complaint, filed by officials from the main mosques in Paris and Lyon, on February 5. The literary magazine Lire (Reading), which published Houellebecq's remarks, is also cited as a defendant.
The 43-year-old writer, who is sometimes accused of being ready to say just about anything to interviewers if he reckons it will bring him more media coverage, made the comments after the launch of his latest best-seller, "Plateforme", in August.
In an interview with Lire, he said: "The dumbest religion, after all, is Islam."
"When you read the Koran, you're shattered," he added, referring to Islam's holy book.
"The Bible at least is beautifully written because the Jews have a heck of a literary talent."
Houellebecq also told the interviewer that he felt Islam was "a dangerous religion right from the start."
Another leading French author, Francois Nourissier, has defended Houellebecq, saying everyone had the right to free speech and that in the end he must be judged on the quality of his work.
"The only question is: Is Houllebecq a good author and is Plateforme a good novel,?" he said.
France has laws against incitation to racial and religious hatred. The country is home to some four million Muslims, most of whom come from former French colonies in North and sub-Saharan Africa.