Washington: Protests against caricatures of Prophet Mohammed are continuing across the world, but the violence is being condemned.
Protests in Iran over cartoons portraying also intensified with hundreds of angry demonstrators stoned the Danish embassy in Tehran and attempted to storm it.
After first smashing and torching the facade of the Austrian embassy, a group of some 400-student members of the Islamic hardline Basij militia moved on to Denmark's leafy diplomatic compound and attempted a full-scale assault.
Muslim leaders in US have said that while defamation of any religion is wrong the violence in Middle East and Asia is not right either.
The leaders, who gathered at the National Press Building in Washington, stood by the freedom of press. But they added that freedom came with a sense of responsibility.
"Not calling for censorship by any means, in fact, we are calling on our press, and our people of the media to ensure that responsible use of the freedom of the press is utilized in a way that will unify and strengthen our communities and will bring about the very fruits and benefits that we want to preserve." President of the Muslim American Society Dr Esam Omeish said.
The controversial cartoons which first appeared in Denmark in September last year have since been republished in several European countries and New Zealand.
The head of the Vatican body responsible for inter-faith relations called for calm and restraint among Christians and Muslims as protests continued across the Islamic world against cartoons satirizing the Prophet Mohammed.
(With Agency inputs)
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