ZI Publications director Mohd Ezra Mohd Zaid pleaded not guilty to a charge of publishing, circulating and owning the controversial book Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta at the Petaling Jaya Syariah court today.

He was charged with publishing the Malay translation of the book - authored by ‘controversial' liberal-Islam author Irshad Manji - which allegedly "contained context against the Islamic faith" in Petaling Jaya around May 2012.

azlan He also faces an alternative charge of distributing the books to Silverfish Books Sdn Bhd, along with another person.

He was also charged with owning the 180 books in Petaling Jaya.

The three charges are under Section 16 (1) (a) of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995.

Syariah public prosecutor Abdul Shukor Abdul Hamid and prosecution officer Shafezan Rusli submitted that bail for Ezra should be at RM1,000 with one surety.

Judge Salahuddin Selamat agreed and fixed May 9 for a re-mention.

He also verbally warned Ezra for failing to appear before the court on Nov 29 last year.

Ezra was represented by Syariah counsel Zulkifli Che Yong.

Last October, Ezra failed to obtain a stay on the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department's (Jais) actions against them in relation to Manji's translated book.

Ezra had previously applied for an order of certiorari to quash the action by Jais officers who raided and confiscated 180 copies of Manji's book on May 29, 2012 at ZI Publications.

Manji, a Canadian, has been slammed by local conservative Muslims for allegedly promoting homosexuality prior to the book launch, which was postponed in the face of protests.

Following this, the Home Ministry had issued a ban on both the English and Malay versions of Manji's Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta .