"The Holy Father is extremely sorry that certain passages of his speech appeared offensive to Muslim believers and were interpreted in a way that does not correspond in any way to his intentions," said the Vatican's new secretary of state, Tarcisio Bertone.

 "The pope is unequivocally in favour of dialogue between religions and cultures," Bertone said, in his first official statement since taking office on Friday.

 Anger with Pope Benedict XVI had intensified across the Muslim world Saturday, uniting Sunni Islam's leading authority, Malaysia's moderate premier and Afghanistan's extremist Taliban militia.

 The Vatican said the pope's comments on Tuesday linking Islam and violence had been misinterpreted, but Muslim leaders described them as offensive with many demanding an immediate apology.

 Protests were held Friday after weekly prayers, as the pontiff's remarks drew condemnation from lawmakers, politicans, lawyers, clerics and community leaders in many Muslim and some Western countries.

 The head of Cairo's Al-Azhar university Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi said Saturday the pontiff's comments "betray a clear ignorance of Islam and attribute to the faith things which have nothing to do with it".

 Sheikh Mohammed, Sunni Islam's top authority, said the pope's remarks "do nothing to further dialogue between world religions and civilizations".

 Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, an Islamic scholar who chairs the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference, said the pope should apologise.

 "The pope must not take lightly the spread of outrage that has been created," Abdullah said. "The Vatican must now take full responsibility over the matter and carry out the necessary steps to rectify the mistake."

 Afghanistan's Taliban militia, which sheltered the Al-Qaeda network before the September 11 attacks, said the pope's comments showed the Christian West was waging war against Muslims.

 "We strongly condemn it," Taliban spokesman Mohammed Hanif told AFP.

 In Germany last week, the German-born leader of more than one billion Roman Catholics implicitly denounced links between Islam and violence, particularly with reference to jihad, or "holy war".

 The pope also quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said innovations introduced by the Prophet Mohammed were "evil and inhuman".

 Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi said Benedict had meant no offence with his speech which was a rejection of violence motivated by religion. The explanation, however, failed to quell Muslim anger.

 In Somalia, a hardline Muslim cleric linked to the country's powerful Islamist movement went so far as to call on Muslims to "hunt down" and kill the pontiff for his "barbaric" statement.

 Palestinian security officials said Molotov cocktails were thrown at two churches in the West Bank town of Nablus on Saturday, a day after four small makeshift bombs exploded near the oldest Christian church in Gaza City.

 The president of the central council of Muslims in Germany, Ayyub Axel Koehler, warned of further outbreaks of violence and urged the pope to issue a clarification.

 "I have a high opinion of the pope but I cannot believe that this was just a blunder," Koehler said.

 Iran joined the calls for a papal apology, saying his remarks could only serve to ignite religious discord.

 "These comments are at odds with his position as a leader of one of the divine religions... and are a great mistake," said foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini.

 The Pakistani parliament unanimously passed a resolution demanding the pope retract his remarks, while in neighbouring India the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Hamid Ansari, said the pope's language resembled that of his 12th century counterpart "who ordered the Crusades".

 The Muslim Brotherhood, the leading opposition force in the Egyptian parliament, said the pope's speech was more serious than cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed, whose publication in European newspapers sparked Muslim anger and violent protests this year.

 "I foresee an extreme reaction to the pope's words, which harm Islam more than the cartoons because they come from a leader who represents millions of people," said a senior official from the group, Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh.

 The pope's speech also caused anger in Turkey, the destination of his next foreign trip in November.

 The head of Turkey's state-run religious affairs directorate, Ali Bardakoglu, described the remarks as "full of enmity" and said he the trip should be cancelled.

 The pope has received some support in the West notably from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but an editorial in the New York Times was highly critical.

 "The world listens carefully to the words of any pope," The Times said. "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."

 Lombardi said it was not yet clear if the pope would address the controversy when he leads the Angelus blessing from his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo on Sunday.

Agence France Presse