Karachi, Pakistan - A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced a man to life imprisonment for writing an allegedly blasphemous book about the Qur'an and the Islamic justice system, said a lawyer on Friday.
Police in the Islamic republic arrested 40-year-old writer, Younus Shaik, early this year in Karachi after he brought out the book called Shaitan Maulvi or Satanic Cleric.
Blasphemy in Pakistan carried a maximum sentence of the death penalty. Although no one had ever been executed, the country's harsh laws for the crime had been heavily criticised by rights groups.
Public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa said: "The court has sent him into jail for life as he described the four Imams as Jews in his book."
'Stoning to death not mentioned in Qur'an'
He said the four Imams were the third generation interpreters of the religion after the Prophet Mohammed, and their views on law were widely respected by the world's Muslims.
He said the writer also committed blasphemy by saying that stoning to death for adultery was not mentioned in the Qur'an.
Local newspapers said Shaik was a hotel manager with little academic background and no religious education.
They reported that the author had 5 000 copies of the book published and was caught by police while handing them out.
Pakistan's national assembly last year passed a bill aimed at reducing abuse of the blasphemy law - under which anyone accused of the offence was immediately arrested and charged before any investigation.
Human rights activists said it was often misused to settle personal vendettas and arguments over property or money, particularly against the minority Christian community.