"We urge the officials in Denmark and Norway to take a firm stance against these repeated insults," said the union chaired by Sheikh Qaradawi.

By Adel Abdel Halim, IOL Correspondent

CAIRO, January 21, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) threatened on Saturday, January 21, to call for a boycott of Danish and Norwegian products over the publication of controversial anti-Prophet cartoons in both Scandinavian countries.

"We urge the officials in Denmark and Norway to take a firm stance against these repeated insults to the Muslim nation and the prophet followed by 1.3 billion people across the globe," read a statement by the Dublin-based body, a copy of which was mailed to IslamOnline.net on Saturday, January 21.

"Otherwise the IUMS will be forced to urge millions of Muslims across the world to boycott all Danish and Norwegian products and activities."

The union asked Arab and Muslim countries to boycott an upcoming Middle East exhibition organized by the Danish Center for Culture and Development (DCCD).

Twelve drawings depicting Prophet Muhammad in different settings appeared in Denmark 's largest circulation daily Jyllands-Posten on September 30.

In one of the drawings, an image assumed to be that of the prophet appeared with a turban shaped like a bomb strapped to his head.

The controversial cartoons have been reprinted in a Norwegian magazine on January 10.

The images, considered blasphemous under Islam, have drawn rebuke from Muslim minorities in both countries and triggered a diplomatic crisis with Arab and Muslim countries.

Not Enough

The IUMS demanded a clear apology for the blasphemous cartoons, saying recent remarks by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen were not enough.

"The prime minister only reaffirmed commitment to freedom of expression and condemned any statement or acts against certain groups or people because of their religion or ethnicity," read the statement.

In a New Year address translated into Arabic and distributed to Middle Eastern countries,  Rasmussen said "free speech should be exercised in such a manner that we do not incite hatred and cause fragmentation of the community that is one of Denmark 's strengths."

The IUMS said the "un-clear statements" were part of an attempt to avoid directly addressing the issue of the anti-prophet cartoons by speaking about minorities in general terms.

"This hurts the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world as well as those of the some 180,000 Danish Muslims who represent three percent of the population."

The union asked Arab and Muslim governments to exercise all possible political and diplomatic pressures on the Danish and Norwegian governments to grind to a halt such organized anti-Islam campaigns.

The IUMS was launched in July of last year in the British capital London as an independent body and a reference for all Muslims worldwide with prominent scholar Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi as its chair.

Al-Azhar, the highest seat of religious learning in the Sunni world, has vowed to raise the issue of the provocative caricatures with the UN and international human rights organizations.

A five-member delegation representing 21 Islamic centers and organizations in Denmark has recently toured a number of Arab and Muslim countries to drum up support for their case.

Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, a prominent Muslim figure in Denmark , told IOL on Friday, November 18, that the Muslim minority in Denmark wants to  "internationalize" the issue of the cartoons to head off similar anti-Islam campaigns in the future.

Islam is Denmark 's second largest religion after the Lutheran Protestant Church , which is actively followed by four-fifths of the country's population.