BAGHDAD — An Iraqi court has sentenced a butcher to 10 years in prison after he was caught selling pork as beef in Najaf, one of the holiest cities in Shia Islam, in a case that drew widespread attention and no shortage of dark humor across Iraqi social media.

Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said the man was arrested this month after being found in possession of 75 kilograms of pork that he had been passing off as beef to customers in the city. "Najaf Criminal Court has sentenced a convicted person to 10 years in prison for selling meat not suitable for human consumption," the council said in a statement announcing the ruling, which was handed down Monday.

Najaf draws millions of pilgrims from around the world each year who travel to visit the mausoleum of Imam Ali, the Prophet Mohammed's son-in-law, the fourth Islamic caliph, and the first Shia Imam. The city's religious significance made the discovery that a local butcher had been selling pork, a meat strictly forbidden under Islamic dietary law, particularly jarring for residents and visitors alike.

While Islam forbids the consumption of pork on the grounds that it is considered impure, Iraqi law does not explicitly ban its sale within the Muslim-majority country, which is also........

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