RIYADH (Reuters) - A leading preacher in Saudi Arabia proclaimed a new spirit of defiance among Muslims after worldwide protests over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in European newspapers.
"A great new spirit is flowing through the body of the Islamic nation ... this world can no longer ignore this nation and its feelings," Saleh bin Humaid said in a televised sermon at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim city of Mecca.
"The nation has fought to back its Prophet Mohammad in recent days. It is the right of every Muslim to show joy at this defense of our beloved Prophet," he added in Friday prayers, sometimes choking back tears.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, last month withdrew its ambassador to Denmark, saying the Danish government had not done enough to assuage anger over cartoons published last September in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
In one, the Prophet Mohammad is shown wearing a turban resembling a bomb.
Several European newspapers have reprinted the cartoons, citing freedom of expression.
Many Muslims consider any images of Mohammad to be blasphemous. The cartoons have touched off an international row and a debate on freedom of the media and respect for religion.
On Thursday, up to 300 militant Indonesian Muslims went on a rampage in the lobby of a building housing the Danish embassy in Jakarta.
Danish companies have reported sales falling in the Middle East after protests in the Arab world and calls for boycotts.
Palestinian gunmen seized and later released a German on Thursday, and a hand grenade was thrown into the compound of the French Cultural Center in the Gaza Strip.
