RIYADH, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Western firms in the Middle East said on Wednesday they were wary of attacks or protests relating to worldwide uproar over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, but saw no immediate danger.
Protesters attacked Western businesses in Pakistan on Tuesday and police used teargas in Islamabad's diplomatic enclave in the latest violence over the drawings, first printed last year by a Danish newspaper.
Embassies of European countries in Damascus, Beirut and Tehran -- among them France, Germany, Britain, Denmark and Norway -- have been also been attacked.
David Claridge, managing director of London-based Janusian Security Risk Management, said firms were advising staff to restrict their movements, with some postponing business trips to the Middle East.
"With the kind of clients we're dealing with, there's been a sensible, measured response," he said. "It's been about keeping your head down and not overly exposing people to risk, rather than kneejerk reactions."
Security is already tight in Gulf Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, where al Qaeda sympathisers have targeted Western residential compounds and energy targets in a campaign launched in 2003 to bring down the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy.
"We considered upping our security, but we have good security as it is," said an official from a Scandinavian firm operating in Saudi Arabia, where most firms who have imported Western labour maintain their own security detail.
"The Saudis have good control over the public. Things are very calm," he added. Saudi authorities frown upon public protest and none have been seen there in response to the cartoons row. Danish-Swedish firm Arla Foods, which has suspended operations at its Riyadh factory, reported one stone-throwing incident against a van.
"All Western companies and embassies already have stringent security measures in place. They all have plans for dealing with terrorist attacks, so people angry over cartoons is not a threat to them," a Western diplomat said. "There have been no random attacks on Westerners in Saudi Arabia outside the big terrorist attacks, and there are some 60,000 Westerners here in all," he added.
EMOTIONS STILL RUNNING HIGH
Saudi clerics have kept the cartoon issue alive with angry sermons demanding trials against those who insult Islam and declaring that apologies from Denmark are not enough.
Islamic tradition generally prohibits images of the Prophet. The cartoons likened the founder of Islam to a terrorist.
The drawings became an issue for Muslims around the world after Saudi Arabia, site of Islam's holiest shrines, last month recalled its ambassador to Denmark in response to pressure from clerics and a popular boycott of Danish products.
Tension is already high in the region as Arab opposition groups accuse their U.S.-allied governments of not doing enough to challenge Western foreign policies including the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and Washington's backing of Israel.
"We are taking our precautions, but I feel fairly safe in Syria," said Norwegian ambassador Svein Sevje, whose mission was torched by Syrian protesters this month.
In Qatar, where an Egyptian rammed an explosives-laden car into a theatre popular with Westerners last year, Western businessmen had few concerns.
"Apart from the signs in the shops that say they've banned Danish goods, things are pretty normal," one said.
In the United Arab Emirates, where over 80 percent of the 4 million population are foreigners, diplomats advise caution.
"Problems over the cartoons are not expected in the UAE or most Gulf countries, but we are urging our dependents to remain alert," one diplomat said.
(Additional reporting by Mark Trevelyan, Miral Fahmy, Odai Sirri and Khaled Oweis)
