A group of Muslim men handed out to the public a leaflet that called for homosexuals to be "punished" and given the death sentence, a court has heard.
The five men gave out the pamphlet, called The Death Penalty?, which showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose, said buggery was a great sin leading to hell, that it used to be punished by hanging and that people practising and allowing homosexuality would suffer, the court was told.
Ihjaz Ali, 42, Mehboob Hussain, 45, Umar Javed, 38, Razwan Javed, 27, and Kabir Ahmed, 28, are alleged to have handed out the document outside and near the Jamia Mosque in Rosehill Street, Derby, in July 2010, as well as putting it through people's letterboxes in the local neighbourhood.
All five men are 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.
Opening the prosecution's case at Derby Crown Court today, where the five men are on trial after denying all charges, prosecutor Bobbie Cheema said the case was an example of a hate crime.
Cheema showed the jury a series of three leaflets the men handed out, which included The Death Penalty? leaflet, and told them they would hear from witnesses who received them.
The Death Penalty? leaflet, which mentions execution and says it is the only way the immoral sin of homosexuality can be erased from society, was handed out to people outside the Jamia Mosque after Friday prayers on July 2.
Cheema said a police officer near the mosque at the time was handed a copy by Razwan Javed, who is brother to Umar Javed, and was then given a second leaflet by Kabir Ahmed in nearby Madeley Street.
Cheema said this came after a previous two leaflets had been distributed to the people of Derby in the streets and through their letterboxes.
The first, called "Turn or Burn", showed images of a burning lake of fire and an image of hell. It stated that the decriminalisation of homosexuality was the root cause of all problems, she said.
The second leaflet used the word "GAY" as an acronym for God Abhors You, and was distributed in the same way.
Many members of the public complained about the first two and on July 1 Ali met with police again and told them his group had been giving them out.
He was advised officers were investigating the leaflets to see if any criminal offences had been committed.
Ali also showed police an A4 page of slogans intended for use on placards, some had been crossed out by his solicitor, he said, and he asked police to check out the remaining ones.
Cheema said they contained such things as "Stay gay and you will pay" and "Adam and Eve, not Steve".
She also told jurors that Ali, of Fairfax Road, Derby, was charged with all four counts on the indictment because the prosecution say he was the person responsible for organising the distribution of the leaflets.
Cheema also said a fourth leaflet, Dead Derby, was found but not distributed.
It described homosexuality as a "vile, ugly, cancerous disease" and asked the question "Gay today, paedophile tomorrow?"
All of the men have been charged with distributing threatening written material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation contrary to Section 29C (1) of the Public Order Act 1986.
Ali faces four charges, while Hussain, of Rosehill Street, Normanton, and Umar Javed, of Whittaker Street, Derby, are charged with two counts each.
Razwan Javed, of Wilfred Street, Derby, and Kabir Ahmed, of Madeley Street, Derby, are charged with one count each.