Spanish PM to meet with country's Muslim leaders

Spanish PM to meet with country's Muslim leaders

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero plans to meet Thursday with Spain's Muslim leaders in an effort to help ease tension over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Government officials said Zapatero was expected to receive the country's Muslim leaders at his Moncloa office and residency, hours after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he also was expected to discuss the caricatures.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos on Tuesday urged dialogue as the best way to reduce tension.

Protests, sometimes violent against foreign diplomatic missions, have swept the Muslim world since the drawings were published first in Denmark.

Depiction of the Prophet Muhammad are forbidden under Islamic law, reports the AP.

I.L.