Cartoons may impact NZ's reputation 

Cartoons mocking a Muslim prophet are proving to be no laughing matter in New Zealand.

Some media have re-run the cartoons and big business and the government say that could hurt our trade and our reputation.

Ethnic Affairs Minister Chris Carter has warned that the decision by The Dominion Post and the Christchurch Press to publish cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Mohammed undermines New Zealand's reputation as a tolerant country.

The newspapers re-published the caricatures, originally printed by a Danish newspaper, one of which pictures Mohammed with a bomb in his turban.

Carter says he is disappointed with the decision and the newspapers should have been more responsible.

"Those editors that have chosen to publish those cartoons haven't really thought about the impact that these cartoons are having on the lives of some New Zealanders," says Carter.

He has warned that it could affect trade, New Zealand's troops in Afghanistan and even the situation of the Auckland student, Harmeet Sooden, currently held hostage in Iraq.

Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton says by publishing the cartoons and upsetting Muslim nations we are putting our economy at risk.

One of the companies which could be affected is the world's largest dairy exporter, Fonterra.

Owned by almost 12,000 Kiwi dairy farmers, the multi-billion dollar company sells much of its product in Muslim countries.

Islam bans any depiction of Mohammed or Allah and the images, drawn by a Danish cartoonist, have triggered outrage and protests across the Muslim world.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Pakistan on Thursday, chanting "Death to Denmark" and burning Danish and French flags.

Palestinian gunmen briefly surrounded European Union offices in Gaza to demand an apology over the cartoons.

And in Indonesia, protesters have staged a demonstration inside the lobby of a building in which the Danish embassy is based.

Federation of Islamic Associations president Javad Khan says Muslims in New Zealand will be outraged and very angry that such images have been shown in New Zealand.

The Maori Party says it is disgusted at the decision to print the cartoons.

Party co-leader Tariana Turia says the act will not only incense the feelings of the Muslim community but is also an outrageous attack on any efforts to create unity throughout Aotearoa.

The cartoons have now been published in numerous countries around the world, including France, Germany, Spain and Jordan.

Two editors - of the France Soir and the Jordanian tabloid, al-Shihan - have been sacked for publishing the images.

British newspapers have chosen not to publish the cartoons.

Michael Binyon, the diplomatic editor of The Times, says the British newspapers have learned in recent years, especially in the light of the London bombings, that it is important community relations are not fractured further.

New Zealand's largest newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, has decided not to publish the cartoons saying it is not a press freedom issue, but a debate about publishing cartoons that give offence for no redeeming purpose."