VATICAN CITY — With furor spreading throughout the Islamic world, Pope Benedict XVI expressed deep regret Saturday that a speech he gave at a German university last week had offended Muslims.
A statement released by his new secretary of State said of Benedict: "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."
It did not seem likely that the expression of regret would satisfy clamor from many corners of the world that the pope apologize. He distanced himself from the language that Muslims found objectionable, but he did not retract the words or ask for forgiveness.
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential Islamic organizations in the Middle East, issued an initial response that Benedict's overture was insufficient.
Hostility to the pope's speech -- a dense lecture in which he quoted a medieval Byzantine emperor as saying, "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman" -- has plunged Benedict's 17-month-old papacy into its most difficult diplomatic crisis.
Muslim communities in Europe, Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere have expressed anger at the pontiff.
His effigy was burned in India, and he has been compared to Hitler and Mussolini.
Morocco on Saturday became the first Islamic country to recall its Holy See ambassador.
In Cairo, Coptic Christian leaders joined their Muslim counterparts in condemning the pope.
Earlier on Saturday, Palestinians firebombed four churches in the West Bank city of Nablus and shot at one in the Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported. And Iraqi and Somalian militants threatened to kill the pope or attack Rome.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded a retraction of Benedict's "ugly and unfortunate" comments, saying that "the pope spoke like a politician rather than as a man of religion." Benedict's scheduled trip to Turkey in November, his first to a Muslim country, may be in jeopardy, though Vatican officials hoped Saturday's statement would help clear the air.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the secretary of State who issued the communique, said the pope in no way endorsed the passage he quoted from Emperor Manuel II Paleologus and meant only to illustrate the rejection of religious motivation for violence.
