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CAIRO, Jan 29: The Muslim world’s two main political bodies said on Sunday they were seeking a UN resolution, backed by possible sanctions, to protect religions following protests against publication in Scandinavia of cartoons hurting sentiments of Muslims.
Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told reporters in Cairo that the international body would ask the UN General Assembly to pass a resolution banning attacks on religious beliefs.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador from Denmark and Saudi religious leaders have urged a boycott of Danish products.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Ben Helli, confirmed that contacts were under way for such a proposal to be made to the United Nations.
“Consultations are currently taking place at the highest level between Arab countries and the OIC to ask the UN to adopt a binding resolution banning contempt of religious beliefs and providing for sanctions to be imposed on contravening countries or institutions,” he said.
Twelve objectionable cartoons published in Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten daily last September and reprinted in a Norwegian magazine earlier this month, sparked uproar in the Muslim world.
LIBYA CLOSES EMBASSY: Libya announced on Sunday it was closing its embassy in Denmark to protest against caricatures of holy prophet Muhammad (pbuh) published in a Danish newspaper.
“Due to Danish authorities not taking a responsible stance in this concern, Libya has decided to close its (embassy) in Copenhagen,” said a statement from the Foreign Ministry. The statement said other measures would be taken but did not elaborate.
The newspaper,Jyllands-Posten, has refused to apologize for the drawings, citing freedom of speech, and Danish government officials have said they would not intervene because of the country’s freedom of expression.
Danish companies in the Middle East face product boycotts, dropped orders and cancelled business meetings.
In a demonstration on the West Bank, members of Fatah’s al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades threatened Danes in the area and told them to leave immediately, the Danish news agency Ritzau reported on Sunday.
The demonstrators burned the Danish flag and called on the Palestinian authorities to cut diplomatic ties with Denmark, Ritzau said.
Officials in Muslim countries and various religious bodies have expressed anger at the cartoons, while the editors of the newspapers have defended their publication on the grounds of “freedom of expression”.
Muslim wrath has spread rapidly in the Middle East with Gulf retailers pulling Danish products off their shelves and protestors gathering outside Danish embassies.
Syria and Bahrain were the latest Arab countries to join the chorus.
“Syria calls on the Danish government to take the necessary measures to punish the culprits. The dialogue of civilisations is based on mutual respect,” said an official quoted by the official Syrian news agency on Sunday.
The Bahraini cabinet, at a meeting on Sunday, condemned the cartoons “which are a deliberate attack against the glorious Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)and have angered Muslims the world over.”
State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmed Attiyatallah al-Khalifa said the government warned against the negative repercussions of the cartoons’ publication.
Sheikh Adel al-Mouwdah, a member of the Bahraini parliament, said.
“We demand an apology from the Danish government and from the newspaper that published the caricatures.”
“We are going to launch a campaign for the boycott of Danish products in order to send a message to the Danes and to the Danish government,” he added.
“Regardless of all the acts of extremism and terrorism that are taking place, there are red lines,” said the official, one of the top Muslim leaders in Bahrain.
A poll published on Saturday showed that a majority of Danes felt their government should not apologise over the cartoons.—AFP/Reuters
