From Brussels to Moscow to Washington, leaders groped for an elusive balance between mollifying Muslims outraged by irreverent caricatures of Islam's prophet and upholding the principles of free speech.
The White House said that it understood Islamic anger over the cartoons but added that Muslims must also condemn anti-Semitic and anti-Christian "hate speech."
"We understand fully why people, why Muslims, find the cartoons offensive," spokesman Scott McClellan said, while upholding "the right of people to express their views, and freedom of speech in society."
The European Council of Religious Leaders, with representatives of all Europe's religions, condemned the publication of the cartoons but also the ensuing violence in the Muslim world.
"We strongly appeal to responsible leaders of all faiths to do their utmost to reject and do their utmost to stop the ongoing acts of violence and terror, which are carried out in the name of God," the council declared in a statement after a meeting of its executive committee in Oslo.
In Brussels, the European Commission condemned the latest wave of violence by Muslim protestors and urged all sides to favour calm debate.
In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac telephoned Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to "condemn acts of violence aimed at Danes and Danish representatives overseas, and voice his solidarity with Denmark," a spokesman for the president said.
In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said repeated publication of the drawings hurt Muslims' feelings but stressed that violence in response was unacceptable.
Calling the cartoons "openly insulting to the religious feeling of Muslim believers," it added however that the furious reaction to them "cannot be condoned".
In Germany, which also has a large Muslim population, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said his country sought "to contribute by using our contacts in a few Arab countries to help calm the violence and the emotions."
Meanwhile, the chairman of Germany's Central Council of Muslims sharply condemned the outbreak of violence, even as he sought to explain why Muslims have reacted so vehemently.
The caricatures, Ayyub Axel Koehler said on public radio, "unleashed frustrations that have built up over a long time. It shows the degradation, the disrespect for and the helplessness of the Muslim world but it does not excuse
such outbreaks of violence."
The Danish prime minister is also reported to have received a call from British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressing support and condemning aggressive protests in London over the weekend as "completely unacceptable," a spokesman for Prime Minister Blair said.
In Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Angel Moratinos cautioned the West against "falling into the trap" of a "war of civilizations," saying that Western governments should work to "reduce tensions, especially at this very complex moment."
A similar appeal came from the Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, who both condemned attacks against Danish diplomatic outposts and criticized publications that opted to reprint the cartoons.
Australian response
Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, says there will be consequences for Australian interests if newspapers publish cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that have sparked violence overseas.
But Mr Downer stopped short of warning newspaper editors against printing the cartoons saying freedom of speech is a cornerstone of Australian democracy.
He's told Sky News it calls for the wisdom of “Solomon” on the part of editors.
Australian blogger Tim Blair has published all 12 cartoons on his website while Brisbane's Courier-Mail published one on Saturday.
New Zealand
New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, says newspapers have the absolute right to publish but the decision by some to print cartoons of the prophet Mohammed was ill-judged.
She says publication of the cartoons in NZ has put the lives of New Zealanders overseas at risk and conveyed disrespect for Muslim people at a bad time.