Ambassadors to Norway from Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Morocco, as well as the charge d'affaires from Tunisia, claim in their letter that Hagen has offended 1.3 billion Muslims around the world.
They also contend that Hagen has violated the principles of tolerance, understanding and cultual freedom on which the Norwegian society is built.
They wrote that they find it difficult to find any justification for the harsh language used by Hagen, when he claimed at a Christian summer gathering in Bergen earlier this month that Mohammed was likely to exploit children in his efforts to "Islamify" the world.
Hagen also claimed that Muslims already had come far in Africa and were making inroads into Europe, something that Christians must oppose. At one point in his remarks, Hagen compared Islamic fundamentalists to Hitler.
The ambassadors claimed that Hagen's remarks were inappropriate for a politician in his position, as a member of parliament and head of the Progress Party. Some Norwegian politicians agree, with both Vidar Helgesen of the Conservatives and Thorbjørn Jagland, a former foreign minister and Middle East expert from the Labour Party, saying they understand that Hagen's remarks were offensive.
"It awakens strong reactions when a leading politician like Hagen refers to Islam and the prophet Mohammed... to spark a confrontation," said Helgesen of the Conservatives.
Hagen, however, brushes off the criticism and stresses that he was referring to Islamic fundamentalists in his remarks, not Muslims in general.
"Terror is being practiced in the name of Islam in large portions of the world, and where are the ambassadors then?" Hagen asked. He said the ambassadors who blasted him in their letter haven't paid attention to what he really said.
"When ambassadors take such an unusual step as to enter into a Norwegian political debate, they should at least have their facts straight," Hagen said. "They should have read my entire speech, something they can't possibly have done."
He countered that the ambassadors' language was sharper than his own. "They used words I myself avoided, and which I absolutely didn't use in my remarks," he said.
Hagen also claims the ambassadors have taken his remarks out of context, and questioned why the ambassadors don't publicly criticize Islamic terrorists when they attack.
