The head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference has rejected calls by a Pakistani cleric for the murder of Danish cartoonists who drew depictions of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in Pakistan Tuesday that the death treats and violent reaction against the cartoons are un-Islamic.
Meanwhile, a United Nations spokesman says Secretary-General Kofi Annan has made a last-minute decision to visit the Middle East to try to calm Muslim anger.
Mr. Annan will speak at a previously-scheduled U.N.-sponsored meeting in Qatar Sunday on how to bring civilizations closer together.
The 12 cartoons first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September and have been reprinted in other European newspapers. One of the cartoons depicts Muhammad as a terrorist.
Islam forbids any depictions of the prophet.