"Each time somebody commits murder in the name of Islam, you should know that the name of Islam is being abused ... All religions forbid terrorism and violence," the lawyer who won the award in 2003 told a gathering of intellectuals at Melk in northern Austria at the weekend.

She said by the same token the atrocities committed in Bosnia and Israel could not be attributed to the Christian or Jewish faiths.

However Ebadi lamented that "certain Islamic governments are not prepared to accept an interpretation of Islam that is compatible with democracy and human rights."

She did not name any state but had earlier here called on Tehran to respect human rights and denounced an Iranian law that authorises the execution of minors.

Ebadi also on Friday called for a negotiated settlement to the dispute between Iran and the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme, declaring that "no country needs the atomic bomb."

The long-running dispute, in which Washington is calling for UN sanctions against Iran, is due to be discussed at a meeting of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna on Monday.

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