A Muslim cleric in India has offered a reward of 20,000 rupees, or 245 pounds, to anyone who blackens the face of exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, whose writings some Muslims consider blasphemous.
To blacken someone's face -- most commonly with ink or shoe polish -- is viewed as a major insult on the Indian subcontinent.
Last month, the communist government of India's eastern state of West Bengal banned Nasreen's latest book, "Dwikhandito", or "Split in Two", for fear the book could disturb religious peace.
"Her writings are against humanity and Islam," S.M.N. Rahman Barkati, the chief cleric of Calcutta's main mosque, told a crowd of more than 10,000 attending Friday prayers.
"Her face can be blackened with ink, paint or tar. Or she can be garlanded with shoes."
Nasreen's earlier books -- "Lajja" (Shame), "My Girlhood Days" and "Wild Wind" -- were banned by the government of neighbouring Bangladesh after they upset Muslim hardliners. "Lajja" was banned for blasphemy and for suggesting free sex.
Police in Calcutta have provided security for Nasreen during her visit to the city.
Nasreen, who lives in the United States, was not available for comment. She was born in Bangladesh in 1962 but fled the country in 1994 after Muslim hardliners called for her death.
The edict comes days after Muslim groups put up posters at Bombay mosques offering a reward of 100,000 rupees to anyone who succeeded in blackening the face of British author Salman Rushdie when he holidayed in the country.
Many Muslims accused the Booker Prize-winning author of blasphemy in his novel, "The Satanic Verses".