JEDDAH  - The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has warned that cartoons ridiculing the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) published in France will trigger a new wave of anti-Western violence.In a statement, OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu “expressed shock and dismay over” the depictions and warned they would “further exacerbate the ongoing turmoil and violence created by the release of the anti-Islam film (Innocence of Muslims)”. Angry protests linked to the movie has left more than 30 people dead since last week, with much of the violence targeting the United States where the film was produced.French ministers fear the focus could now shift to Paris’s overseas outposts following the publications of the cartoons in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.“The French weekly should pay heed to the concerns of the international community on incitement and intolerance of religious beliefs,” said Ihsanoglu, calling on the political and religious “leadership of the world and all stakeholders to take a united stand against fanatics and radicals.”He said it was time the international community took “serious note of the dangerous implications of hate speech and inciting publications and come out of hiding behind the excuse of freedom of expression.”The film and the cartoons constituted a “deliberate, motivated and systematic abuse” of freedom of speech and “posed a clear and present danger to peace, security and stability in the region as well as the global context.”He further called on Muslims worldwide “to exercise restraint in testing times.”Embassies, consulates, cultural centres and international French schools in around 20 Muslim countries will be closed on foreign ministry orders Friday for fear of retaliatory violence following weekly prayers.Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi on Thursday said it was legitimate to shut down websites that incite hatred as protests sweep the Muslim world over publications seen as offensive to Islam. “It is absolutely legitimate for governments to block sites that include incitement to hatred,” Terzi said, following outrage and violent protests over a short film on YouTube and a series of cartoons in a French weekly.“There is a very fine but clear line that separates freedom of religion from freedom of speech and Italy’s criminal code defines religious defamation as a crime,” he said.“Italy has a legal tradition that enshrines the values of free thought but links them to respect of the freedom of others to have faith and to be respected in their faith.”Religious defamation under Italian law carries possible punishments ranging from a fine of 1,000 euros ($1,300) to a maximum of three years in prison.The law was amended in 2006 to replace defamation against Catholicism with defamation against all religions.