Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Pope Benedict XVI apologized Saturday to Muslims who were offended by a speech he gave in Germany, saying his comments were misinterpreted and stressing his utmost respect for the Islamic faith.
Amid widespread outrage across the Muslim world over remarks that were taken as specifically linking Islam and violence, the pope said his speech had been intended as a rejection of religiously motivated violence from any side.
"The Holy Father thus sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful, and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions," AFP quoted Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as saying in a statement.
"In reiterating his respect and esteem for those who profess Islam, he hopes they will be helped to understand the correct meaning of his words... quickly surmounting this present uneasy moment," Bertone said.
The statement came amid calls from Muslim leaders around the world for the pope to apologize for his remarks last week at Regensburg University, which they criticized for painting Islam in a bad light, particularly with reference to jihad or "holy war".
Muslim leaders in Indonesia bemoaned the pope's comments, saying he should have been more sensitive when discussing the issue. "Next time the pope should be more thoughtful when making statements," Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
When visiting the University of Regensburg in which he was once a professor and vice rector, the pope, opening a speech on the relation between faith and reason, quoted a 15-century Byzantine emperor in a discussion with an educated Persian on the subject of Christianity and Islam.
The emperor, according to the pope, said that everything Muhammad brought was "evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." The pope did not explicitly state his opinion on the emperor's statement he quoted, but alluded in the lecture that Islamic theology defied reason or "logos".
Azyumardi said Benedict's statement reflected the rocky Muslim-Christian relations in the past. However, this conflict should not renewed, he said, considering the current fragile relations between the Islamic world and the West after George W. Bush declared his war on terror.
Former Muhamadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif said Muslims should be cool-headed and examine what the pope said in its entire context. "Whatever the circumstances, he as a pope should not have said things like that," he told AFP.
Al Maschan Musa, who heads the main chapter of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, called the Pope's statement "regrettable" but declined to comment further, saying that he wanted to first study the entire statement.
Catholic priest Benny Susetyo believed that many Muslims had misunderstood the pope's remarks. He doubted that those making angry comments had read the entire speech.
"This is reminiscent of the public reactions to some of Gus Dur's statements that they misunderstood," he said referring to the respected but controversial Muslim cleric and former president Abdurrahman Wahid.
Benny blamed the media for failing to give the complete context of the pope's remarks, which were the root of the misunderstanding. He suggested that people visit www.zenit.org to download a full copy of text of the papal address at the university. "It would be better for us to read the complete text first," he said.