Copenhagen, Denmark: Denmark Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday held discussions with a group of moderate Muslims in an effort to defuse tensions over the Prophet Muhammad cartoons.
The newly-formed network of moderate Muslims, led by centrist lawmaker Naser Khader, however, was not representative of Denmark's estimated 200,000-strong Muslim population.
Critics said the meeting could cause internal division in the Muslim community.
Khader founded the Democratic Muslims network on February 5 to counter-balance a group of conservative imams who have been accused of fueling the outrage against Denmark in Muslim countries.
At his Friday prayer, Ahmed Abu Laban, Denmark's most prominent imam, called the 42-year-old Syrian-born lawmaker 'a rat in a hole'.
Prime Minister Rasmussen had earlier invited Abu Laban and other imams to talks about integration of immigrants in Denmark.
But last week, Integration Minister Rikke Hvilshoej said the imams were no longer welcome, partly because of trips they made to the Middle East to seek support in their fight against the drawings.
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