5 Months in Jail: American Man Sentenced for 'Blaspheming' Islam

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- An Indonesian court has sentenced an American businessman to five months in jail for marching into a mosque during Islamic prayers and ripping cables from the loud speakers.

Gregory Lloyd Luke was found guilty of blasphemy.

Mohammad Bilal, an official at the Praya District Court on Lombok island, said the 64-year-old was given a relatively lenient sentence because he was apologetic and polite during the hearings.

Luke, himself a Muslim, has a lodge for tourists on Kuta beach.

He stormed into the nearby mosque during prayers on Aug. 26 and disabled the speakers, which he said were too noisy.

A mob attacked him and ransacked his house, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage.