London, 2007 Sep 6, IRNA
Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has invited ambassadors from Islamic countries to talks on Friday over an offensive drawing of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.a.) in a local daily.
"The meeting forms part of our dialogue with these countries," TT news agency quoted a government spokesman saying.
"We want to emphasise the fact that Muslims and Christians live side by side in Sweden in a spirit of mutual respect," the prime minister's press secretary Oscar Hallen said.
The move comes after a wave of protests by Muslims in Sweden and formal complaints from Islamic countries following the August 19 anti-Islamic publication of the Holy Prophet in Nerikas Allehanda daily.
It was not clear which countries will be represented in the meeting.
Premier Reinfeldt has stepped in to prevent an international crisis over the cartoon, as he has been trying to reach out to Muslim groups in Sweden and abroad to avoid a repeat of last year's mass protests in Muslim countries over insulting Danish newspaper cartoons.
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