CHRISTIAN SUPPORT FOR MUSLIMS IN AFRICA.

Nigeria's Christians back Muslims.

Religious tensions in Nigeria has often led to deadly clashes. An umbrella Nigerian Christian body based in the majority Muslim north has condemned the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The cartoons first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September and have sparked Muslim protests across the globe.

A leading Islamic cleric in Kaduna, which has previously had deadly religious riots, has also spoken about the insensitivity of printing them. He called for calm in the city where security is tight at Friday prayers. Tensions between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria have led to clashes leaving thousands dead in recent years. Rev Joseph John Hayep, the secretary general of the Christian Association of Nigeria, said the publication was totally uncalled for at a time when the world was looking for unity.

On Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Arabic TV he was sorry for any offence caused but insisted his government was not responsible for newspaper articles. Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, leader of Nigeria's Muslim Brothers, said the prime minister's words went some way to easing the situation. More than 200 people died in religious clashes in Kaduna over the Miss World beauty contest in 2002. The BBC's Adamu Yusuf in Kaduna says the city is calm and the cartoon row is not being widely discussed.

The cartoons' publication has also drawn strong criticism in other African countries. Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade has issued a statement condemning the reproduction of the images by European newspaper editors, saying freedom of the press could not be used as an excuse. The foreign minister of Sudan, where the ruling party has organised a boycott of Danish products, says the decision was "disappointing". "Whatever religion, whether Islam, Christian or Jewish, we would never support anybody who talks negatively about other religions," Foreign Minister Lam Akol said during a visit to London.

BBC NEWS REPORT