Najafrn1. Protesters marching with banners reading: "We condemn the offence by the Danish magazine against the prophet, Islam and Muslims." ...
Najafrn1. Protesters marching with banners reading: "We condemn the offence by the Danish magazine against the prophet, Islam and Muslims." rn2. Various of protesters chanting slogansrn3. Protesters stepping on and hitting Danish flagrn4. Close-up banner reading: "Kufa University staff condemn the offence against the prophet." rn5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fa'q Jassim, Protesterrn"We came out in protest today because some of the Danish newspapers offended the reputation of the prophet, and we demand that the Danish government submit a formal apology for what happened in the Danish newspapers."rn6. Wide of protesters marchingrn7. Protesters burning Danish and Norwegian flagsrn8. Protester holding a burning flagrn9. More of protesters marching with banners and chanting slogansrn10. Various of demonstrationrnrnBaghdadrn11. Wide of news conference held by spokesman of the Association of Muslim scholars Mohammed Bashar al-Faidhi rn12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar al-Faidhi, spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars: rn"The Association of Muslim Scholars has condemned this act (Prophet Mohammed abuses). The association denounced this heinous act through previous statement number 210. The association joins calls for a commercial and diplomatic boycott of Denmark and Norway unless these two countries present an official apology and recognition of the insult."rn13. Cutaway reporters rn14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar al-Faidhi, spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars: rn"As we confirm our stance versus this act (Prophet Mohammed abuses), we call upon all Muslims to practice self-restraint and not to retaliate and avenge. We have already warned that Muslims have a good wisdom and ethics that will qualify them to respond to these foolish acts in a suitable way."rn15. Cutaway reporters rn16. Al-Faidhi at news conferencernrnSTORYLINE: rnrnHundreds of Iraqis demonstrated against Denmark and Norway in Najaf on Tuesday as Muslim leaders urged their government to cut diplomatic and commercial ties with the two countries over the publication of caricatures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed in Danish and Norwegian newspapers.rnrnFour to five-hundred protesters took to the streets waving banners, chanting slogans and burning the Danish and Norwegian flags.rnrnMeanwhile in Baghdad, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a leading Sunni Muslim group, became the latest Iraqi group to demand action against the two Scandinavian countries over the cartoons.rnrn"The association joins calls for a commercial and diplomatic boycott of Denmark and Norway unless these two countries present an official apology and recognition of the insult," said the association's spokesman, Sheik Mohammed Bashar al-Faidhi, at a news conference in Baghdad on Tuesday.rnrnAl-Faidhi also called upon Muslims to practice self-restraint. rnrn"We have already warned that Muslims have a good wisdom and ethics that will qualify them to respond to these foolish acts in suitable way," he said. rnrnThe 12 drawings, published in September by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and republished in a Norwegian paper this month, included an image of the prophet wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a burning fuse. rnrnIslamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, even respectful ones, out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry. rnrnThe Danish paper, Jyllands-Posten, published an apology on Monday in a bid to end the dispute that has angered Muslims around the world and led to boycotts of Danish products.rnrnDenmark's Islamic Faith Community, the Muslim group that spearheaded criticism of the paper, said on Tuesday that it accepted the paper's apology.rnrnrnYou can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3974e6079b7968144daac632be7409c5 rnFind out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Less
