JEDDAH, 1 February 2006 -- An apology, a government announcement and a bomb threat are the latest developments in the ongoing controversy over cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The Danish daily Jyllands-Posten posted an apology letter to the "Arab world" yesterday on its website for publishing cartoons on Sept. 30 that depicted the Prophet, which is prohibited in Islam, including one showing him as a terrorist.

"These cartoons were not in violation of the Danish law but have irrefutably offended many Muslims, and for that we apologize," Jyllands-Posten Editor in Chief Carsten Juste, wrote in a letter that was sent Monday night to Jordan's Petra news agency.

The paper's offices in the northern town of Aarhus and downtown Copenhagen were evacuated after receiving a bomb threat yesterday, according to Agence France-Presse.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Easmussen said he would consider sending a delegation to Saudi Arabia to discuss how to call off the current boycott in the Kingdom.

"Whether they apologize or not, I would never again buy any Danish product, because what they've done is beyond forgiveness," said Abdul Qader Ibrahim, a Sudanese housekeeper in Jeddah.

Ahmad Alsaeed, a Saudi college student, said he thought the boycott should stop. "We know that the Danish government has no power over the media, but we had to make our point of view clear," he said. "If it wasn't for the boycott, the Western world would not have understood how serious this issue is to Muslims."

Shops and restaurants were still seen in Jeddah hanging signs favoring the boycott. Shop owner Salah Badr said things were not yet quite clear to him. "People are still favoring the boycott. I think we need some time to absorb the Danish reactions and see what the general public thinks before we can put Danish products back on our shelves," he said.

Hatim Misfer, a Saudi receptionist, said he would resume buying Danish products at least for the sake of the Danish Muslims who were consequently affected by the boycott. "I think the Islamic scholars should give their point of view toward the whole issue, because it's a matter that touches the heart of Islam," said Misfer.

A Danish bank analyst said a long-term consumer boycott of Danish goods in the Middle East and other Muslim countries could threaten some 11,000 jobs in Denmark. Export of food and agricultural products alone could cost some 4,000 Danish jobs if the boycott continues for a year, he said.

The Danish food company Arla, which has a big dairy products market share in Saudi Arabia, announced Monday that it was to temporarily suspend operations at a dairy plant in Riyadh that employs 800 people.

Finn Hansen, an Arla manager in Denmark, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that none of its 1,200 employees in the Middle East risked being laid off for now, but some 100 workers at three dairy plants in Denmark could face lay-offs.

Arab interior ministers yesterday called on Denmark to punish Jyllands-Posten. "We ask the Danish authorities to take the necessary measures to punish those responsible for this harm and to take action to avoid its repeat," the ministers said in a statement.

The statement came at the end of a two-day meeting in Tunis to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation against terrorism blamed on Islamist groups in the region.

"Why do they talk about democracy and freedom of expression just when the issue concerns Islam? If it concerns other religions the facts will change," said Amr Moussa, the Arab League chief, who attended the gathering.

Denmark's honorary consul in Yemen resigned yesterday in protest over the cartoons. Alsahwa website said Ahmad Hayel Saeed Anaam, a prominent Yemeni businessman who manages the Danish Consulate in Sanaa, sent a letter to Denmark's ambassador in Saudi Arabia tendering his resignation.

Denmark currently has no embassy in Sanaa, and its diplomatic work is undertaken by its embassy in Riyadh.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told the Danish ambassador of the government's "condemnation of the insult and disrespect expressed by a daily Danish newspaper."

Danish troops based in southern Iraq raised their state of alert. "The Defense Ministry evaluates the threat as real since it comes from a reliable source," the Politiken newspaper's website quoted Danish Defense Minister Soren Gade as saying.

By Hasan Hatrash

© Arab News 2006