Denmark acted on Monday to calm Muslim indignation at a new series of blasphemous cartoons and advised its citizens against travelling to the Middle East as Islamic leaders condemned the drawings.
Muslim anger was roused when a public Danish television station aired amateur video footage showing members of the youth wing of the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party (DPP) taking part in a competition to draw images at a summer camp in August.
The foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday that footage of the cartoons was first posted on the video-sharing web site YouTube, which is not hosted in Denmark.
"Danish television channels TV-2 and DR later aired extracts," it said. "The intention of airing the extracts was not to provoke Muslims but to illustrate the matter in an interview on DR with the chairman of the DPP Youth Organisation, who distanced himself (from) the video clips."
The ministry issued a strong advisory to Danes against travel to the Gaza Strip and cautioned against travel to Israel and the West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.
"A militant group in Gaza has made threats against Danes in the Palestinian areas in connection with the (cartoon) matter on October 9," the advisory said. "We urge Danes to use caution as the matter could lead to negative reactions."
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, heavily criticised in the Muslim world earlier this year for refusing to apologise for a previous assortment of Danish cartoons, has condemned the behaviour of the DPP activists.
The DPP is not a member of the ruling coalition, but supports the government in parliament. Denmark's second highest foreign ministry official met ambassadors from Muslim countries in Copenhagen on Monday to explain the prime minister's position.
MUSLIM REACTION: In Tehran, Iran summoned the Danish ambassador to complain about the broadcast, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said those who insulted the Holy Prophet (PBUH) were "low life" devoid of human values.
Lebanon's top Shia Muslim cleric, Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, did not blame the Danish government for the latest drawings, but called for unspecified legal action.
"This nonchalance towards the continued insults against Islam could set the stage for negative responses due to inflamed emotions," he said in a statement.
"We affirm that Muslims should respect Westerners and not insult them," he added. "We affirm that Westerners should respect Islam and refrain from insulting Muslim sanctities so this doesn't turn into a hot or bloody (issue) with reactions that harm the relationship between Muslims and Westerners in one way or another."
The 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) also condemned the cartoons, saying the values of tolerance were eroding in Europe. "The OIC spokesman deplores the act of caricaturing of Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by the youth members of the Danish Peoples Party and this being shown, regrettably, on state television," said a statement sent to Reuters by the Jeddah-based OIC, the world's largest Islamic grouping.
The Egyptian foreign ministry branded the behaviour of the DPP activists "childish", saying it reflected ignorance of Islam, but urged Muslims to exercise self-restraint.
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