Danish pastries latest target of Iranian protests over cartoons

TEHRAN - Not content with pelting European embassies with petrol bombs to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, Iranians have decided to rename the "Danish pastry" relished by this nation of cake lovers.

From now on, the pastries which dominate shelves in Iran's cake shops will be known as Roses of the Prophet Muhammad, the IRNA news agency reported as pressure on Denmark over the cartoons took on a new dimension.

"No one is allowed to make fun of our beloved and respected Prophet," Hassan Nasserzadeh, a cake-shop owner in central Tehran, said.

The pastries are not imported or subject to any boycott of Danish goods imposed over the cartoons.

The move echoes that of restaurants in the US House of Representatives, which renamed French fries "freedom fries" after France refused to back the Iraq war.

- REUTERS