Danish public sympathises with offended Muslims

An opinion poll in a Danish Sunday newspaper showed that more than half the Danes questioned said they understood why Muslims around the world were outraged by cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad first published in Denmark.

But fewer than half those asked thought it was wrong of the daily Jyllands-Posten to publish the 12 cartoons, whose reprinting by other European newspapers triggered a storm of protest from Muslims around the world.

The usually peaceful Danes have found themselves at the eye of the storm of protest, with Danish diplomatic missions set on fire and Danish goods boycotted in several Muslim countries.

The Malaysian newspaper Star reported that the Danish foreign minister had asked his Malaysian counterpart to help calm Muslim anger over the cartoons.

The report appeared shortly after Denmark's foreign ministry urged its citizens to leave Indonesia because of a "clear and present danger" from Muslim extremists and followed the withdrawal of Danish diplomats from Indonesia, Iran and Syria.

Many Muslims consider all portrayals of the Prophet as blasphemous.

The Gallup survey in Denmark's Berlingske Tidende showed that 56 per cent of the 1,003 Danes questioned last week understood that Muslims were offended by the cartoons, while 41 per cent said they did not understand by Muslims were so angry.

Asked if it was wrong of Jyllands-Posten to publish the cartoons, 49 per cent of respondents agreed, but 43 per cent said the paper was right to print them.

Protests against the cartoons appeared to be dwindling. In Tehran, about 60 people staged a protest outside the French embassy, setting fire to a French flag and chanting "Death to America" and "Fascist France is a servant of Zionism."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a news conference diplomatic missions should be respected "to stop the enemies from taking advantage of the situation to justify the disgusting move that happened in some European countries."