Saudis recall envoy over cartoon row

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia said yesterday it had recalled its ambassador to Denmark, saying the government had not taken enough action over newspaper cartoons seen as mocking Islam and the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

"The Saudi government recalled its ambassador for consultations in light of the Danish government's lack of attention to insulting the Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] by its newspapers," a government official said. "This led to an escalation of the situation and its development."

A Saudi Foreign Ministry official confirmed the recall.

Denmark's largest daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten published on September 30, 2005 an article about freedom of speech and it was accompanied by 12 cartoons ridiculing the Prophet by various Danish illustrators.

One of the illustrations shows the Prophet wearing a turban made of bombs. On January 10, 2006, a Norwegian evangelical newspaper, Magazinet, reprinted the drawings in the name of defending freedom of expression.

Norway said yesterday it had advised its Middle East embassies to voice regret that an Oslo-based newspaper ran reprints of the cartoons.

Meanwhile, Saudis have intensified their boycott campaign against Danish and Norwegian products.

More Saudi supermarkets and commercial firms announced their decisions to boycott Danish and Norwegian products and began pulling out their dairy products and cheese from the shelves.

Posters, with a list of the Danish and Norwegian products, calling for their boycott have appeared in most of the districts in the capital and other cities.

The Riyadh-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth urged the international community to stand firmly against repetition of such outrageous incidents and punish culprits who are behind the hostile propaganda against Islam.

Speaking to Gulf News, Dr Al Wohabi, secretary-general of the world assembly, voiced deep concern over the offensive cartoons, terming the attempts as irresponsible behaviour that runs contrary to human values and stands out as an example of Islamophobia.

"Such acts only sow hatred and hostility and undermine world peace and respect for different cultures," he said.

Several other Islamic organisations and societies worldwide have urged Muslims to boycott Danish products.

Meanwhile, the Danish ambassador contacted representatives of a number of Saudi organisations which launched the boycott campaign and tried in vain to persuade them to withdraw the drive.

Sources at the organisations told Gulf News that the ambassador failed to convince them of the position of the Danish Government in this respect.

According to the ambassador, the Danish Government is not in a position to intervene in the issue as it would violate the freedom of expression enshrined in the country's constitution.

In meetings with representatives of Islamic organisations, the ambassador was not ready to apologise for publishing sacrilegious cartoons. According to the sources, the Danish Government did not make any comments that denounced publishing such cartoons.

- With additional inputs from Reuters