Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami said today that Muslim anger over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed would subside if media outlets promised never to republish them.

"I believe that if the Islamic world is given assurances that such an action will not be repeated, we will see greater calm come to the world," Khatami told reporters at an international conference in Kuala Lumpure.

The cartoons, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper, sparked violent protests from Muslims worldwide as Islamic tradition prohibits any images of the prophet.

"I believe that in general the people who have committed this act (publishing the cartoons) must apologise," Khatami said.

Limitations on freedom

Freedom of speech, which was used to defend publication of the cartoons, has its limitations, he said.

"We believe that thoughts should be free. There should be freedom of speech but insulting and inflaming emotions of others is not freedom of speech," he said.

He also said the Islamic world was undergoing a period of transformation that included increased support for dialogue rather than disputes and violence between Muslim leaders and Western governments.