The "Muslim-made…Show Me The Prophet" contest will accept submissions until the end of next January.

BERLIN — In what some see as a civilized and creative way of drawing off misconceptions, German Muslims are championing an artistic competition to highlight the noble traits and characteristics of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

"Muslims of all age brackets are encouraged to introduce the traits of Prophet Muhammad through writings, music and plays," the Central Council of Muslim, the organizer, said in a statement on its website.

"It is the best means to introduce the Prophet especially after the insulting (Danish) caricatures."

In September 2005, Denmark's mass-circulation daily Jyllands-Posten commissioned and printed 12 cartoons including portrayals of the Prophet wearing a bomb-shaped turban and another showing him as a knife-wielding nomad flanked by shrouded women.

The caricatures, considered blasphemous under Islam, have triggered massive and sometimes violent demonstrations across the Muslim world and strained the Muslim-West ties.

"Early Muslim immigrants were largely preoccupied by working and fitting in but German Muslims are now working to establish their place in their new home," said the council.

Germany is home to a 3.2-million-strong Muslim community and Islam comes third after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.

Awards

The star-studded jury includes renowned Hoffman.

The "Muslim-made…Show Me The Prophet" contest will accept submissions until the end of next January.

Its star-studded jury includes renowned German Muslim scholar Murad Hoffman, retired famed pop singer Hülya Kandemir, a revert, Ethiopian-born German singer Ammar and Azhar Usman, one of the world's few American Muslim standup comedians.

Winners will be awarded trips to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj and `Umrah and scholarships in Istanbul.

Muslim minorities in many Western countries have championed local campaigns to introduce the Prophet to non-Muslim countrymen.

Prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi launched earlier in November a fund to finance activities projecting the true image of Islam and the Prophet in the West.