Denmark’s Islamic Organization’s Dr. Jehad Al Farrah, right, at the International Islamic Conference for Support of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Manama, Bahrain, on Thursday. (Reuters)

MANAMA, 24 March 2006 — Danish imams attending an Islamic scholars meeting here will not call for a halt to a Muslim boycott of their country’s goods until Danes apologize for cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), an imam said yesterday, while another Danish Imam Naser Akkari downplayed reports about a secret video-tape made of him where he called for the bombing of a Danish MP more than a month ago.

Danish media reported yesterday that the delegation of Danish imams would issue an appeal calling for the boycott of Danish products and firms to be lifted. But Raed Hlayhel, who is leading a delegation of Danish imams to the “International Conference for Supporting the Prophet,” denied this.

“We didn’t ask that the boycott be ended, but we urged that there is no escalation of the boycott. The ball is in their court ... They have to help us to end this boycott,” Hlayhel said.

The cartoons first printed by a Danish paper and later reprinted in other countries, provoked a storm of protests among Muslims, attacks on three Danish embassies and a boycott of Danish goods in some countries which has hit exports.

Scholars at the conference are expected to call for a study on the effects of the boycott to decide what measures they may take next. A communique will also ask for the creation of an international organization for supporting the Prophet, a fund to support regular conferences, constant dialogue with the West, and a legal office to follow up cases of blasphemy against Muslims and Islam.

At the first meeting of its kind since the furor over the cartoons erupted earlier this year, prominent Muslims including Qatar-based Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi and Saudi Sheikh Salman Al-Awdah condemned violent protests against the cartoons.

“It is the right of Muslims to boycott those who are harming them and their Prophet,” said Qaradawi, who chaired the two-day conference. “There should be great pressure at the United Nations to issue strong rules that would criminalize the defamation of religions.”

Al-Awdah told the assembly: “This conference is held to guide this anger among Muslims ... which should be neither a passing (anger) nor a blind one.”

“We believe that the incident was because of ignorance about the Prophet,” said conference spokesman Soliman Al-Buthi. “An economic boycott is one of the ways to combat the ignorance, but we need to educate the West about who the Prophet was and to have an open dialogue with the West,” Al-Buthi said.

Many Muslim scholars denounced attacks on foreign embassies in Muslim countries but urged other ways of showing anger.

Meanwhile, Danish Imam Naser Akkari apologized to the Danish MP for his comment and said he was misunderstood. “I apologize to MP Naser Khader about the comments that were made jokingly,” said Akkari outside the hall of the meeting. “I intend to write MP Khader a letter to apologize and assure him that I did not mean any of the things that was said.”

Akkari questioned the timing of the airing of the tape. “A very positive message had been transmitted from here for Denmark and its Muslims,” he said. “Today they air this and I don’t know why now.”

— Additional input from agencies