On September 20 last year, exactly 10 days before the Jyllands-Posten newspaper published its cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Ahmed Abu-Laban, a Copenhagen imam, accepted an invitation to Marienborg, the Danish prime minister's stately summer residence.

This informal exchange of views between Anders Fogh Rasmussen and prominent Danish Muslims was aimed at countering extremist Islamic ideology. Mr Abu-Laban's presence signalled the government's belief that his was a voice of moderation.