In a British legal first, the jury at Manchester Crown Court found Syed Mustafa Zaidi guilty of two counts of child cruelty.

The boys, aged 13 and 15, were forced to beat themselves with a zanjeer zani, an implement containing five curved blades, during a ceremony to commemorate the death of a Shia Muslim spiritual leader.

Zaidi, 44, of Salford, also flogged himself during the ceremony at a community centre in Levenshulme, Manchester.

The boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted they wanted to beat themselves, but not under duress and not using Zaidi's zanjeer zani.

Both boys also admitted they had flogged themselves with a smaller zanjeer zani from the age of six in Pakistan.

A 14-year-old boy, who was 13 at the time, said Zaidi told them both: "Start doing it, start doing it". He told the jury: "We said 'we don't want to do it'."

The boy said he saw Zaidi flogging himself with the zanjeer zani before washing his blood from it and handing it to the 15-year-old boy.

He said Zaidi was "pulling him and pushing him, 'keep doing it', telling people 'this is a sad moment and look he's not doing it'.

"He goes 'I don't want to do it, I don't want to do it'.

"He kept pressuring him, make him do the knife thing, pulling him, trying to get his T-shirt off, pulling and pushing him. He was saying 'just do it'."

He said the 15-year-old boy "swung it once or twice and said, 'I don't want to do it any more'."

He said the older boy was then pulled away by another man.

Zaidi admitted he had asked the boys if they wanted to beat themselves and that he allowed them to use his zanjeer zani.

He denied his actions, on 19 January, were wrong, saying: "This is a part of our religion."

He said the 15-year-old boy had performed a "perfect matam" and that it was not a "stitching matam" because he didn't sustain heavy cuts.

He told the jury: "It was an emotional time and the children were happy, they asked for it. No one forced anyone."

The boys both received multiple lacerations to their backs, mainly superficial, with several deeper cuts.

Zaidi, a warehouse supervisor, said: "If I'd known this would be the result of breaking the law I would never have done it."

The jury returned their verdict in two-and-a-half hours. The case was adjourned for sentencing on 24 September.

Carol Jackson, lawyer for the Greater Manchester Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "The CPS wishes to make it clear that this prosecution was not an attack upon the practices or ceremonies of Shia Muslims.

"The law exists to protect the young from harm or being exposed to harm. In this case, both boys were made to take part in the ritual flagellation and suffered injuries to their backs."

The jury heard Zaidi attended a meeting two days before the ceremony, where it was made clear that under-16s were not permitted to flog themselves.

Superintendent Nadeem Butt of Greater Manchester Police, said: "This man not only abused the vulnerability of these children but went against the wishes of his own community, as well as knowingly breaking the law."

"The sensitivities this case raises – legal and cultural – are significant. We are aware of the community's concerns about how this case could be portrayed, and have been working closely with community leaders throughout the process."