German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Monday for harmony between religions and denounced violence caused over the past week by a video mocking Islam as "no way to settle" differences.
"We appeal for a peaceful coexistence of religions, both in Germany and worldwide," she told a Berlin news conference.
"Freedom of religion means that everyone should exercise their religion freely, but violence is no way to express differing opinions," she said. "Things must be settled in a peaceful way, through discourse, through dialogue."
Merkel explained that a ban announced by her government on further visits to Germany by Terry Jones, a radical US Christian pastor who has spoken out in favour of the video, was designed to limit unrest.