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Saudis run Danish apology
20/02/2006 15:18 - (SA)
Riyadh - Saudi newspapers on Sunday ran full-page apologies by the Danish newspaper that first ran cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, but the Jyllands-Posten website said businesses - which were not named - had placed the ads, using an apology issued by the newspaper late last month.
The Jyllands-Posten website said the group of companies placed the ad on their own initiative, without Jyllands-Posten's involvement. It did not identify the companies, nor did it say if they were Danish. No one was available at the Danish or Arab news outlets on Sunday night to explain what companies had placed the ads.
Boycotts of Danish products throughout the Muslim world have taken a heavy toll on businesses, especially those selling Denmark's famed dairy products.
The advertisements ran in three of Saudi Arabia's main newspapers as well as the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat, which is distributed around the Arab world.
The Jyllands-Posten website said the text of the ad was identical to the apology in Arabic that it posted on its website on January 30. In that text, Jyllands-Posten apologised for offending Muslims, but stood by its decision to print the cartoons September 30.
The text of the advertisement said, in part: "We apologise for the great misunderstanding that occurred over the drawings that depicted the noble prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace be upon him)."
It was signed by Jyllands-Posten editor, Carsten Juste.
The apology - which began with the traditional Islamic greeting, "Peace and God's mercy and blessings be upon you" - was dated February 5. It was not clear why the ad carried that date.
"The clash of civilisations"
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah tried to calm the protests on Sunday, condemning what he called "the clash of civilisations" and calling on Muslims to spread the idea of peaceful coexistence.
"I call... for the next stage in relations between countries to be a stage of real dialogue where each side respects the other side, respects its sanctities, beliefs and identity," said Abdullah.
"Under these circumstances, when the Islamic nation is subjected to an attack that targets its religion, symbols and ideology, it is the duty of its sons and especially intellectuals to portray the true face of the nation, the face of tolerance, justice and moderation," he said.
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