LONDON (AP) -- A Muslim cleric accused of inciting followers to murder ``nonbelievers'' was ordered to stand trial and denied bail on Thursday.
Prosecutors say Abdullah el-Faisal, 38, circulated cassettes of his sermons in which he called on Muslims to kill Hindus, Jews and other nonbelievers.
His lawyers say el-Faisal, who denies wrongdoing, is a respected cleric whose quotations from scripture have been taken out of context. Defense lawyer Irfan Butt said the case could become a trial of Islam and its holy book, the Quran.
El-Faisal, who was arrested Monday, is charged with encouraging ``others to murder persons unknown.'' Judge Timothy Workman denied bail, saying there was a risk el-Faisal would go into hiding and commit further offenses.
Prosecution lawyer Sally Walsh said police had translated several Arabic-language tapes of speeches by el-Faisal, who has preached across Britain.
In one, el-Faisal is accused of telling followers that a jihad, or holy war, had been declared against India by Osama bin Laden.
``You can go to India and if you see a Hindu walking down the road you can kill him and take his money,'' el-Faisal is alleged to have said.
``Jihad is officially declared against India and it is compulsory for us to do hits on Hindu targets.''
Elsewhere on the tape he is alleged to have told supporters ``you have to learn to shoot, you have to learn to fly airplanes.
``Fasting is prescribed for you, killing is prescribed for you,'' he is alleged to have said.
Prosecutors did not say when the tapes were made. The defense said they were at least four years old.
Prosecutors said copies of the tapes were found in el-Faisal's east London home, along with notes for sermons and duplicating equipment. The cassettes -- one titled ``No Peace with the Jews'' --were also for sale in Muslim bookshops.
Butt said el-Faisal -- a Jamaican-born convert to Islam who studied religion in Guyana and Saudi Arabia -- served as imam at mosques in north London. Butt called el-Faisal a respected member of the community.
``This is a very sensitive case, and we need to tread very carefully,'' he said. ``This case will be watched by Muslims not only here in the U.K. but around the world.''
Butt said el-Faisal's sermons were based solely on the Quran and had been misinterpreted by police and prosecutors.
``There is a danger in this case that the Islamic scriptures will be put on trial, that the Quran and Islam will be put on trial,'' he said.
El-Faisal was not asked to enter a plea during the 40-minute hearing on Thursday. He waved at supporters in the visitors' gallery, one of whom shouted ``Allah is the final judge!'' as el-Faisal was led away after the hearing.
Lawmakers had called for action to be taken against el-Faisal after The Times of London reported two weeks ago that he had toured Britain calling for the killing of Jews and nonbelievers.
His next court appearance was set for Feb. 28 at London's Old Bailey criminal court.