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Ihsanoglu said the UN General Assembly would be asked to "pass a resolution banning attacks on religious beliefs."
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CAIRO,
January 30, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League, the
Muslim world's two main political bodies, are seeking a UN resolution,
backed by possible sanctions, to protect religions following the
publication of cartoons depicting and ridiculing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
"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," Ekmeleddin
Ihsanoglu, OIC's secretary general, told reporters in Cairo on Sunday,
January 29, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He
said the UN General Assembly would be asked to "pass a resolution
banning attacks on religious beliefs."
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.
Twelve
drawings depicting Prophet Muhammad in different settings appeared in Jyllands-Posten,
Denmark's mass-circulation daily, on September 30.
One
of the drawings depicted a man assumed to be the prophet as wearing a
turban shaped like a bomb.
The
cartoons were reprinted in a Norwegian magazine earlier this month
just to add insult into injury.
The
drawings triggered a diplomatic crisis and massive popular protests
across the Muslim world.
Embassy
Closed
With
Muslim political and popular anger showing no sign of abating, Libya
said Sunday it was closing its embassy in Denmark in protest against
the publication of the caricatures.
"In
light of the attacks against Prophet Muhammad and the silence of the
Danish authorities, Libya has decided to close down its diplomatic
representation in Copenhagen," the Foreign Ministry announced in
a statement run by the official Jana news agency.
The
statement added that Libya would take "retaliatory economic
measures against Denmark."
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 civilizations 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 and have angered Muslims the world over."
Saudi
Arabia has already recalled its ambassador to Denmark in protest at
the Danish government's position on the publication of the offensive
cartoons.
Adamant
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"The Danish government and the Danish nation as such can not be held responsible for what is published in independent media," Rasmussen said.
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Danish
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Sunday his government
could not act against the satirical cartoons, reported Reuters.
"The
government can in no way influence the media. And the Danish
government and the Danish nation as such can not be held responsible
for what is published in independent media," he insisted.
Jyllands-Posten
had not intended to insult Muslims when it published the drawings,
said the premier, referring to an editorial on the paper's Web site in
Danish and Arabic.
"We
are sorry the matter has reached these proportions and repeat that we
had no intention to offend anyone, and that we as the rest of the
Danish society respect freedom of religion," the newspaper's
editor-in-chief Carsten Juste said in the editorial.
According
to Reuters, the newspaper has not apologized for publishing the
drawings, which have caused widespread anger among Muslims around the
world.
A
majority of Danes believe their government and media should not
apologize for the jibes.
A
poll for Danish Radio by the Epinion research institute published
Saturday showed that 79 percent of Danes surveyed said Prime Minister
Anders Fogh Rasmussen should not apologize on Denmark's behalf, 18
percent said he should and three percent were undecided.
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Speech & The Sacred (Have
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