UN, Islamic body call for dialogue to ease cartoon row

The United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference called for dialogue between the Muslim world and the West on Saturday to ease tensions over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad which appeared in some Western publications, according to reports.

"We urge everyone to resist provocation, overreaction and violence, and turn to dialogue," said a joint statement, issued after a meeting in Qatar, which was attended by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and heads of the 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

The statement also urged concerned countries to resort to reason to overcome mistrust and resentment.

It also reaffirmed "the right to peaceful protest", acknowledging deep hurt to Muslims by the caricatures.

The UN and the world largest Islamic body also called upon people to exercise restraint and avoid an escalation of tensions.

The cartoons, including one showing the Prophet Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban, were first published in a Danish newspaper last September, and then reprinted by publications in Europe and elsewhere.

The caricatures, seen as blasphemous by most Muslims, sparked widespread, sometimes violent, protests across the Muslim world.

Source: Xinhua