A judge in Britain has sentenced three Muslim men to 4½ years in prison each for an arson attack on the home of a publisher of a novel about the child bride of the Prophet Muhammad.

Ali Beheshti, Abrar Mirza and Abbas Taj were convicted of conspiracy to commit arson at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Tuesday in the firebombing of the home of Martin Rynja on Sept. 27 last year.

The trio spilled diesel on the front door of Rynja's house in the Islington area of north London and set it on fire, just days before Rynja's Gibson Square company was scheduled to publish The Jewel of the Medina by Sherry Jones.

American writer Sherry Jones of Spokane, Wash., says her book The Jewel of Medina 'honours the Prophet and his favourite wife.' (Associated Press)

Andrew Hall, Beheshti's lawyer, argued at the sentencing that his client's actions were an "act of protest born of the publication of a book felt by him and other Muslims to be disrespectful, provocative and offensive."

Hall added that Beheshti does have some remorse for his actions: "He wishes me to say now, publicly, that he considers his conduct to have been misguided, disproportionate and counter-productive."

That did not dissuade the judge from answering sternly that "If you chose to live in this country, you live by its rules. There is no such thing as à la carte citizenship."

Rynja went into hiding after the attack and his company delayed the publication of the book.

Jones has said her novel, written from the perspective of Muhammad's third wife Aisha, is meant to portray a "wonderful heroine who overcame obstacles to become a prominent figure in Islam."

Jones also dismissed fears her book would incite violence.

"To claim that Muslims will answer my book with violence is pure nonsense. Anyone who reads the book will see that it honours the Prophet and his favourite wife," said the author in an interview with German newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung last year.

The book has since been published in the U.S., U.K. and seven other European countries including Italy and Germany.

Rynja was praised by the judge as a man of principle who had "exercised critical judgment on a literary work and stood up to be counted, knowing that publishing it put him at risk."