Attempts by Muslim organizations to pursue legal action against the newspaper that first published the contentious Prophet Muhammad cartoons have been stymied by a Danish court.

The City Court in Aarhus acknowledged that some Muslims could have been insulted by the cartoons that were published last September, but said it couldn't be assumed that they were intended to "belittle Muslims."

The publication of the cartoons -- and subsequent republication by several European publications in January and February -- sparked protests around the Islamic world for weeks.

Several European embassies were attacked and protesters were killed during demonstrations in Libya and Afghanistan.

The defamation suit was filed against the Jyllands-Posten newspaper by seven Muslim groups. They took legal action after Danish prosecutors decided the publication of the cartoons did not constitute an act of racism or blasphemy.

"It cannot be ruled out that the drawings have offended some Muslims' honor, but there is no basis to assume that the drawings are, or were conceived as, insulting or that the purpose of the drawings was to present opinions that can belittle Muslims," the court decided.

The Muslim groups claimed they had the backing of an additional 20 Islamic groups in Denmark.

They were seeking $16,860 from the paper's editor-in-chief and culture editor who oversaw the publication of the cartoons.

Their case hung on the argument that the cartoons depicted Muhammad "as belligerent, oppressing women, criminal, crazy and unintelligent, and a connection is made between the Prophet and war and terror."

The group claimed the drawings were only published in an attempt to "provoke and mock" both the Prophet Muhammad and Muslims in general.

Any depiction of the Prophet Muhammad is forbidden under Islamic law.

With files from The Associated Press