Blasphemous Cartoons Of Prophet Muhammad.

Muslim across the world were united, in pressing for an apology over the blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Muhammad published by European newspapers, calling for enacting legislations to protect religious sanctities and symbols as thousands of Muslims took to the streets in protest of the insulting caricatures.

A prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi told prayers during the Friday sermon in Doha: " The Muslim nation must get angry over insults directed against its faith and Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] and must not accept these affronts under any circumstances,"

In September 2005, Denmark's Jyllands-Posten published twelve drawings that included portrayals of a man assumed to be the Prophet wearing a time-bomb shaped turban and showed him as a knife-wielding nomad flanked by shrouded women.

Several European newspapers, in the name of freedom of the press, reprinted some or all of the blasphemous cartoons, including the French daily France-Soir and Germany's Die Welt.

Qaradawi also called for economic and political boycott of countries that printed the insulting drawings. "It is a fundamental duty of the Muslim nation to boycott goods of those who dared to insult Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]."

"The Muslim governments should also withdraw their ambassadors from Denmark and shut down its embassies on their territories as part of a political boycott."

The Muslim scholar also called for issuing legislations to protect prophets and religious sanctities against any form of insults. "The Muslim countries and people should pressure the international bodies to issue these laws." "They should also pressure newspapers that insulted Muslims to apologize”.

"Danish Muslims should also be allowed to publish articles in the newspapers for a whole month to defend our Prophet."

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said in a statement: "This deplorable act is a blatant disregard for Islamic sensitivities over the use of such images, which are particularly insulting to and forbidden by Islam.

"He noted that it was even more regrettable that newspapers and journals in some other countries such as Norway, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy and Spain had seen it fit to reproduce the Danish newspaper's offending caricatures despite worldwide protests against the publication of those images.

"This is a deliberate act of provocation. They should cease and desist from doing so," said Abdullah, who is chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Organisation (OIC).

The Prime Minister, however, called upon Malaysians to remain calm and rational.

"Let the perpetrators of the insult see the gravity of their own mistakes which only they themselves can and should correct," he said.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen saidhe could not apologize for the publication of the cartoons, Reuters reported. "A Danish government can never apologize on behalf of a free and independent newspaper," Rasmussen told reporters after an hour-long meeting with 76 foreign diplomats.

Commenting on a boycott of Danish goods in Muslim countries, Rasmussen said defending freedom was more important than defending his country's business interests.