The pope's remarks ignited worldwide Muslim furor. (Reuters)

CAIRO – Editorials in leading US and UK dailies censured Saturday, September16, Pope Benedict XVI' for his anti-Islam rant, saying that the comments reflected poor judgment and risk deepening Islam-West rift.

British The Guardian said there might have been less protest had Benedict a clearer record in favor of dialogue with Islam.

"As a cardinal in the Holy See, he was known to be skeptical of John Paul II's pursuit of conversation. One of his earliest decisions as pope was to move archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, one of the Catholic Church's leading experts on Islam, and head of its council on interreligious dialogue, away from the centre of influence in Rome, and send him to Egypt as papal nuncio," it said.

It also cited the pope's outspoken opposition to the admission of Turkey into the European Union, saying that his planned visit to Istanbul was no unlikely.

Speaking at the University of Regensburg on Tuesday, Benedict quoted criticism of Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) by 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who wrote that everything Muhammad brought was evil and inhuman, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

In his inaugural speech last year, the pope ignored Islam and hailed the "great spiritual heritage" shared by Jews and Christians.

Benedict recently backpedaled on calling the July 7 London transport bombings "anti-Christian" after an early draft of a Vatican statement condemning the bombings included the inflammatory phrase.

Instead, a final version approved by the pope stopped at referring to the blasts as "barbaric acts against humanity."

Bad Example

The Guardian said the pope was quoted the wrong person when he talked about Islam and Prophet Muhammad.

"Manuel II Palaeologus (1350-1425) was hardly an impartial observer of Islam. No academic impartiality lay behind the assertion, repeated by the Pope in his lecture in Regensburg earlier this week, that all that was new in Muhammad's thought was "evil and inhuman", citing conversion under threat of the sword as an example," it said.

And the paper ridiculed the pope for the example he cited.

The Pope used this to kick off a discussion of God and reason rather as a parish priest might casually preface his Sunday homily with a reference to the storyline of EastEnders. It is unsurprising that it caused offence," it said, referring to the popular BBC television soap opera.

The offensive remarks have stirred uproar in the Muslim world with Muslim scholars blaming the pontiff's words for his ignorance of Islam.

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the head of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS), said on Friday the pope's words reflected ignorance of the basic tenets of Islam.

Din Syamsuddin, chairman of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, agreed.

"The Pope's statements reflect his lack of wisdom. It is obvious from the statements that the Pope doesn't have a correct understanding of Islam," Syamsuddin told Reuters.

"Tragic and Dangerous"

The New York Times also published an editorial Saturday, in which it called the pope's remarks about Islam "tragic and dangerous" and urged him to apologize.

The paper said this was "not the first time the pope has fomented discord between Christians and Muslims."

"A doctrinal conservative, his greatest fear appears to be the loss of a uniform Catholic identity, not exactly the best jumping-off point for tolerance or interfaith dialogue," the editorial said.

"The world listens carefully to the words of any pope," The Times continued. "And it is tragic and dangerous when one sows pain, either deliberately or carelessly. He needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology, demonstrating that words can also heal."

A growing chorus of Muslim leaders worldwide were united Friday, September 15, in insisting on a personal apology from Pope Benedict over his comments.

They said that the pope should apologize personally and not through Vatican sources, to all Muslims for such a wrong interpretation.