RIYADH Saudi newspapers Sunday published full-page apologies by the Danish newspaper that first ran cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that have touched off violent anti-western protests around the Muslim world.
But Jyllands-Posten's website said the newspaper wasn't involved in the ads. It said businesses placed the ad on their own initiative, using an apology issued by the newspaper late last month. It did not identify the companies or say if they were Danish.
Boycotts of Danish products throughout the Muslim world have taken a heavy toll on Denmark's exporters, especially those selling Denmark's famed dairy products.
The advertisements ran in three of Saudi Arabia's main newspapers - Al-Jazeera, Al-Riyadh and Al-Youm - 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 the website Jan. 30. In that posting, signed by editor Carsten Juste, the newspaper apologized for offending Muslims, but stood by its decision to print the cartoons Sept. 30.
