Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Indian Muslim religious leaders "welcomed with joy" Benedict XVI's clarification with regard to its controversial September 12 speech at Regensburg University, calling it a "sign of religious tolerance and peace".

"We are very happy that the Pope has tendered an apology. It a great sign of religious tolerance and peace from the Pope. We respect him for this," said Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala Chairman Panakkad Syed Mohammedali Shihab Thangal.

The Muslim world violently protested because it thought that the Pope agreed with the views expressed by Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos who said that only evil had come from Islam, remarks the Pope quoted in his speech at Regesnburg University. Because Indian media reprinted such remarks badly translated and out of context, Indian Muslims violently protested against the Pope and the Christian community.

In yesterday's Angelus, Benedict XVI made it clear that the emperor's views did not reflect his way of thinking. As the Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone pointed out, reading the full text of the proclusion (inaugural address) would have made it abundantly clear that the Pontiff only expressed a "clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it may come."

"I am sure the Pope would never deliberately say something to offend Muslims. Now that he has come forward to put his remarks in perspective it is a great thing," said Thangal

Maulana Kalbe Jawaad, a Shia cleric who last week condemned the Pontiff's speech. "We demanded an apology because the Pope's speech had hurt the sentiments and feelings of millions of Muslims across the globe," he said from Lucknow where he leads the local Shia community. "Now the controversy is over, and we do not want to criticise the Pope any longer".

For India's bishops, "the Pope has always had high regards for all of the religions and cultures of the world. This can be seen from all the speeches he has made since the beginning of his pontificate. . . . In no way did he intend to hurt the religious sentiments of our Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world. On the contrary, he has always tried to create an atmosphere that ensures greater unity among religions and cooperation between cultures."

In the aforementioned statement released to the press and signed by Mgr Stanislaus Fernandes, Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, all religious communities around the world are urged to look forward to a future of peace.