A Muslim leader visiting Bermuda has spoken out against cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad which have sparked protests around the globe.

Imam Yahya Abdullah, from Dallas, Texas, told the images ? first published in a Danish paper last year and since reprinted in numerous publications ? were deeply offensive to followers of Islam. But he also condemned those who have used violence to rail against the caricatures, resulting in at least four deaths in Afghanistan.

?We have to have respect for sacred matters,? he said. ?If you tell me that certain things offend you I should respect those things. We have to learn to respect each other. We have lost common decency. I don?t think the cartoons should have been published.

?As a Muslim, this cartoon is not Muhammad the Prophet. Free speech doesn?t mean you have the freedom to say what you want when you want. You can?t say anything about the Jews without serious repercussions and consequences. You can?t say Hitler was a good man. And that?s how it should be.

?The Muslims are saying ?our religion requires us not to make any images of our prophets?. That?s one of the things that offends us.?

Mr. Abdullah, who is married to Bermudian Alana Shakir, from Sandys, said he was disturbed by reports of violent clashes in the Middle East and elsewhere.

?We need to caution the Muslim community not to go to extremes,? he said. ?We shouldn?t engage in violence. While we agree with the outrage and the protest it shouldn?t be violent.

?We should just let our disgust be known and our outrage be known, but in a way that?s not disrespecting Islam or giving Islam a bad name.?