CASTELGANDOLFO,
ITALY: Pope Benedict assured Muslims on Monday that he respected them and was
committed to dialogue, in an unprecedented encounter to defuse anger at his use
of quotes saying their faith was spread by the
sword.
In a speech to
diplomatic envoys from some 20 Muslim countries plus the leaders of Italy's own
Muslim community at his summer residence south of Rome, the Pope said both
Christians and Muslims had to reject
violence.
Several of the envoys
who attended said they considered the meeting had gone a long way to help end
the controversy that began two weeks ago with a speech by the Pope at a
university in Germany.
"I
think this meeting has resolved many problems ... we can close this
controversy,"said Khalil Altoubat, a member of the Italian Muslim community's
liaison group with the government.