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Deep respect for Islam: Pope

VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI said on Wednesday that he had ``deep respect'' for Islam but did not offer an apology as demanded by some Muslim leaders offended by his remarks in Germany last week.

The Pope acknowledged that his remarks were open to misinterpretation, but insisted he had not intended to endorse a negative view of Islam.

``I hope that in several occasions during the visit ... my deep respect for great religions, in particular for Muslims — who worship the one God and with whom we are engaged in defending and promoting together social justice, moral values, peace and freedom for all men — has emerged clearly,'' he said at the Vatican.

``I trust that after the initial reaction, my words at the University of Regensburg can constitute an impulse and encouragement toward positive, even self-critical dialogue both among religions and between modern reason and Christian faith,'' he said

The grand sheik of Al-Azhar Mosque, the Sunni Arab world's most powerful institution, has demanded that the Pope apologise more clearly.

``The Pope has to apologise frankly and justify what he said,'' Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi told papal and Egyptian Catholic representatives in Cairo on Tuesday. — AP

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