Norwegian ambassador to Syria said on Wednesday that his government respects the Islamic faith and condemns the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a Norwegian magazine.

"Islam constitutes the spiritual foundation for a large part of the world's population, and their religion is entitled to our respect," the official SANA news agency quoted ambassador Svein Sevje as saying in a statement.

Describing the publication of the cartoons as "unfortunate and deplorable", he said that the Norwegian government "condemns any action or statement that expresses contempt for a person on the basis of religion or ethnic background".

"I note that none of the leading Norwegian media have published similar offensive illustrations of utterances," the ambassador added.

Sevje denounced the publication of cartoons as offensive when he met Syria's Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun on Tuesday.

The 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad initially published in a Danish daily last September and reprinted recently in Norway and several other European countries sparked widespread protests in the Islamic world, as any depiction of the Prophet is considered blasphemous by Muslims.

Angry Syrian demonstrators torched Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus last Saturday.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry expressed regret on Sunday "over the violent acts which accompanied the protests and caused material damages at some embassies" in Damascus.

Source: Xinhua