problem with .htaccess file

im facing a problem regarding my .htaccess file here is the code within the the file

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}%{REQUEST_URI} !-f
RewriteRule ^category/([^/\.]+)/?$ index.php?category=$1 [L]
RewriteRule ^department/([^/\.]+)/?$ index.php?department=$1 [L]
RewriteRule ^brand/([^/\.]+)/?$ index.php?brand=$1 [L]
RewriteRule ^product/([^/\.]+)/?$ index.php?product=$1 [L]
RewriteRule ^basket/([^/\.]+)/?$ index.php?basket=$1 [L]
</IfModule> 

once i load the website it gives me this error

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, root@localhost and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

and once i remove the .htaccess file content the site back to work normally

Those "Internal Server Error" messages are a pain in the ass; they're almost as useless as no error message at all.

Debug procedures for .htaccess files:

1. Comment out every line.
2. Uncomment the first commented line.
3. Try it out.
4. Works? GOTO step 2
5. Doesn't work? Check the server's logs for more details.

Make sure you've saved your .htaccess file with the correct encoding: I suggest ANSI as apache can have issues if it's not.

Please check if this directory is configured with AllowOverride set to Options or All