In legal documents seen exclusively by the Belfast Telegraph, Dr Raied Al-Wazzan of the Belfast Islamic Centre is named as the chief witness in the prosecution case against Pastor James McConnell.
The evangelical preacher faces up to six months in prison if convicted over a sermon last year in which he branded Islam as "heathen" and "Satanic".
In his statement to the PSNI, Dr Al-Wazzan denounces the pastor's "terrible comments" and describes his "general sweeping statements" as "offensive and disgusting".
In January Dr Al-Wazzan himself was embroiled in controversy when he said that Islamic State, which has carried out mass executions and forced millions of people to flee their homes, had been a positive force in Mosul, his home city in Iraq.
"Since the Islamic State took over, it has become the most peaceful city in the world," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback.
"Yes, there are other things going wrong there... they are murdering people, I agree, but you can go from east to west of the city without fear." [Belfast Telegraph] Read more
