Indonesian Muslims went on a rampage inside the lobby of a Jakarta building housing the Danish embassy on Friday in protest over cartoons that Muslims say insult Islam and the Prophet Mohammad ().

Between 200 to 300 white-clad protesters smashed lamps with bamboo sticks and threw chairs around in anger at cartoons originally published by a Danish daily.

They threw rotten eggs and tomatoes at the Danish embassy symbol and tore up a Danish national flag. The embassy is on the 25th floor of the building and protesters were unable to get past police inside the lobby.

Outrage has erupted in the Middle East after more European newspapers published the cartoons, which were originally published by Danish daily Jyllands-Posten last September.

About 100 Indonesian policemen tried to restrain the protesters as they made fiery speeches calling on the government of the world's most populous Muslim nation to sever diplomatic ties with Denmark and evict its ambassador.

About 200 protesters also rallied outside the Danish consulate in Indonesia's second-largest city Surabaya, witnesses said. One poster held aloft said the world's Muslims were ready to defend the honor of the Prophet Mohammad ().

The Indonesian government condemned the cartoons and said it had expressed its concern to Denmark's envoy, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin told a weekly news conference.

As a democracy, Indonesia welcomed freedom of expression but drew the line at mocking sacred religious symbols, he said.

"I think this is not only about a bilateral issue between Indonesia and Denmark, this is a much more serious issue ... It involves the whole Islamic world vis-a-vis Denmark and vis-a-vis the trend of Islamophobia," Thamrin added.

Newspapers in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Hungary have reprinted the caricatures this week.

Many Arab commentators said the European defense rings hollow because, they said, European media protected Judaism and Israel from criticism.

Bahrain: Insulting Cartoons are Unforgivable

Demonstrations will take place across Bahrain today calling for an official apology from Denmark over offensive cartoons published in a Danish newspaper. The Islamic Clergymen Council has urged people to take to the streets to condemn the cartoons, which depict the Prophet Mohammed () and have inflamed the Arab world.

It has described the cartoons as a direct challenge to Islam and Muslims.

Parliamentary blocs Al Asala and Al Menbar have also called on people to stage demonstrations to send out a message to the world that anything which harms the reputation of the Prophet () is "unforgivable".

The demonstrations are expected to take place in several areas of Bahrain after Friday prayers at around 1.30pm.

They are being planned in Muharraq, Dair, Manama, Ghufool, Sanabis, Duraz, Isa Town, Karzakan, A'ali, Sitra and Hamad Town.

Five of Bahrain's Islamic societies have also issued a statement saying the cartoons have destroyed the relationship between Denmark and the Islamic world.

They urged people to boycott the country's products until the Danish government apologises for the caricatures and promises that such acts will not be repeated.

The societies are the Islamic Enlightenment Society, the Islamic Resalah Society, the Capital Society for Islamic Culture, Sayed Al Shohada Charitable Society and Al Bayan Society.

Islamic Enlightenment Society president Shaikh Baqer Al Hawaj said that something sacred was being abused. "Prophet Mohammed is important to us," he said.

"He () is the person who has changed our lives for the better and just thinking about touching his figure is unacceptable.

"Other religions, whether Judaism or Christianity, have always been respected by Islam. Muslims have never mocked these religions."

Shaikh Al Hawaj said it was time for Muslims to stick together and boycott Danish products to show Denmark that Muslims are unhappy and want to protect their religion.

"Demonstrations will also continue until we get an apology and until Denmark realises that this is not freedom of speech, but a direct attack on Islam - which remains strong whatever those with hatred in their hearts do," he said.

"We have heard rumours that Danes will be burning the Quran in Copenhagen Square.

"If it is true then it shows how weak the Danes are because those without power always use desperate tactics."

Meanwhile, Resalah Islamic Society president Sayed Jaffar Al Alawi hopes the Danish government would step in to prevent desecration of the Quran. "The Muslim world has been acting in a civilised manner - that's through boycott and demonstration," he said.

PHOTO CAPTION

Angry Indonesians tear the Danish flag during a protest in front of a building housing the Danish embassy in Jakarta February 3, 2006. (Reuters)