Three Muslim men have been found guilty of stirring up hatred by handing out leaflets that said Islam "punished" homosexuals with the death penalty.
Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed handed out the pamphlet, called The Death Penalty?, which showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and quoted Islamic texts that said capital punishment was the only way to rid society of homosexuality.
They were convicted at Derby Crown Court of distributing threatening written material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.
It is the first prosecution of its kind since legislation came into force in March 2010.
Mehboob Hussain and Umar Javed, who were also charged with the same offence, were found not guilty by the jury.
The leaflets were given to people outside a mosque and posted through letterboxes in the Normanton area of Derby.
Razwan Javed, Kabir Ahmed, Ihjaz Ali will be sentenced next month
The men admitted distributing the flyers but denied they were "threatening" or designed to cause trouble for homosexuals.
Bobbie Cheema, prosecuting, said that "many people" had complained to police about receiving the leaflets, which were distributed in the run-up to a gay pride event in the city in July 2010.
Gay people who received the leaflets were horrified. One man, who didn't want to be named, told Sky News: "They incite violence and I would even say it's incitement to murder. It lists various methods of executing homosexuals from burning alive, stoning, hanging or being thrown from a tall buidling and I felt that was directed at me.
"My initial thoughts were that I was actually being targeted by an individual, it really was quite frightening, it's a very very scary image, especially when you realise what the message is," he said.
During the trial the court heard that one gay man was so frightened by the leaflets that he left his home for a week.
Another man, who wished to remain anonymous, told Sky News: "I'm still looking when I'm walking down the street to see if someone is following me or when I go to bed I think, 'is someone going to do something to my letterbox?' It's just a nightmare. You can't sleep at night, it's a big worry."
Taxi driver Ali, of Fairfax Road, who the prosecution said was believed to be the main organiser and supplier of the leaflets, was found guilty of four counts of distribution on July 2 and July 4.
Ahmed, who is married with a nine-month-old daughter and lives in Madeley Street, and Razwan Javed, of Wilfred Street, were convicted of distribution in the area of the mosque on July 2.
Judge John Burgess, Honorary Recorder of Derby, adjourned sentencing until February 10.
Available in printed from at £6.99 (or save 10% and get it for £6.29 by ordering from lulu ) 
