Sebastian Faulks, the best-selling author, has risked angering Muslims after claiming the Koran has no ethical dimension and dismissing the words of Muhammad as the rantings of a schizophrenic.

He said the Islamic holy scripture was a one-dimensional book that has little literary value, and added that when compared with the Bible its message seemed barren.

Faulks has recently read a translation of the Koran to help him write his latest novel, A Week in December, to be published in September. The cast of characters include the wife of Britain's youngest MP, a female Tube driver, a hedge fund manager and a Glasgow-born Islamic terrorist recruit named Hassan al Rashid.

In an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, Faulks said: It's a depressing book. It really is. It's just the rantings of a schizophrenic. It's very one-dimensional, and people talk about the beauty of the Arabic and so on, but the English translation I read was, from a literary point of view, very disappointing.

Faulks claims that the Koran offers no interesting stories compared with the Bible, and simply tells its readers to believe in God or burn forever.

And in a move that is likely to anger many Muslims, he calls into question the worth of Muhammad: Jesus, unlike Muhammad, had interesting things to say. He proposed a revolutionary way of looking at the world: love you neighbour, love your enemy, be kind to people, the meek shall inherit the Earth. Muhammad had nothing to say to the world other than, 'If you don't believe in God you will burn forever.'

Ajmal Masroor, an imam and spokesman for the Islamic Society for Britain, says he does not recognise Faulks' description of the Koran. He said Faulks' statement runs the risk of stirring religious hatred against Muslims: Attacks on Islam are nothing new, but the danger is this will have a "drip, drip" effect. People don't seem to understand the consequences of saying things like this could be quite severe. History tells us it can encourage hatred.

Offsite: The book I really can't put down

25th August 2009. See article from telegraph.co.uk by Sebastian Faulks

There seems to be an almost inevitable irritation when novelists in Britain and America, with their long history of free speech, touch on matters Islamic. I am not the first and probably won't be the last to have ruffled some feathers, though I feel sad about this, because my new novel, A Week in December, is carefully researched, and, among its main characters, presents a hugely sympathetic and loving Muslim family; it is furthermore made clear that the parents' kindness and good citizenship spring not just from being naturally good eggs but from their devotion to the Koran.

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Anjem Choudary has predictably demanded that author Sebastian Faulks be tried before an Islamic court where the penalty could be possible execution.

He said the bestselling novelist should be hauled before a Sharia court to answer charges that he had insulted the Prophet Mohammed by describing the Koran as the rantings of a schizophrenic.

Although the bestselling author has since apologised, Islam4UK a radical group associated with Choudary and his mentor, the banned cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, posted an article on its website entitled, Sebastian Faulks on a Death Wish? It concludes: May Allah punish the oppressors and deal with the slanderers.

Choudary, a former supporter of banned extremist group Al-Muhajiroun, denied writing the article, but said he agreed with its content.

He's not the first person to insult the Prophet. You can see with Theo van Gogh and Salman Rushdie and whole host of other people that it does have those consequences. There are many people out there who do like to take things into their own hands. Someone like this needs to be assessed in an Islamic court of law and if he's found guilty then there would be capital punishment. It would have to be assessed by an Islamic judge, but that could only happen in an Islamic state where the Sharia is implemented.

Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, of the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: Choudary and his followers are seeking to impose their will on the population of this country through subversion and incitement to violence. Their latest veiled threats to Sebasitan Faulks serve to provide us with yet another example of the extremist threat posed by this organisation. The weakness of Choudary's fascist ideology could not be better illustrated than by his inability to provide an intellectual response to criticism, instead resorting to veiled threats and intimidation.