"The Danish government should do a lot of things. The government should apologise. But even an apology is not enough after all these accumulated problems," said London-based Egyptian television preacher Amr Khaled, who has condemned both the caricatures and the subsequent violence.

"Denmark needs now to build bridges," Khaled stressed, adding that "the Danish government bears a responsibility in this crisis."

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has refused to apologise for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's decision to print 12 caricatures of the prophet last September, insisting that freedom of expression and freedom of the press are tenets of Danish democracy.

Muslims consider all images of their religion's founder to be blasphemous, and the publication of the cartoons has ignited violent demonstrations in the Muslim world.

Khaled was one of several panelists at the one-day conference, financed by the Danish foreign ministry and attended by Muslim and Christian experts.

The seminar was organised with the aim of starting a "dialogue based on greater mutual respect and understanding", the chairman of the meeting, Ole Woelhers Olsen, a senior Danish diplomat, told AFP.

Khaled agreed, voicing optimism that the 50 or so youths from the Middle East and Denmark taking part in the debates would help find a solution to the crisis.

"I put my hope in the youth ... They put on the table five or six projects to build bridges and co-existence," he said.

Another panelist, Tareq al-Suweidan of Kuwait, who hosts an Islamic television show aired by satellite, meanwhile backed Khaled's call for an apology but went even further to ask for a change of legislation in Europe.

"We want the Danish government to engage in a direct dialogue with Muslims in Denmark and the Muslim world. We would like an official apology and we would like to change the laws in Denmark and the European Union," he said.

"Either you have freedom of speech for everyone, including (on issues like) the Holocaust and anti-Semitism or you change the laws to respect religious figures like our Prophet Mohammed," he said, calling on Danes to pressure their government to ensure a change.

"If the Danish people are serious about this and if they feel that the Danish government has caused a major hit to their economy and interests ... they should pressure their government to change its opinion," he said.

Without an official apology from the Danish government, "Danish interests, not only in the Arab world but in the whole Muslim world will continue to be boycotted," al-Suweidan said.

Khaled meanwhile appeared to take a more conciliatory approach.

"In my opinion, dialogue is essential. We need a dialogue," he said, pointing out that "there are extremists on both sides. We, the moderate, need to make our voices louder than the ... extremists."