Pope Benedict XVI closed his homecoming visit to Bavaria amid mounting international criticism after a speech at Regensburg University provoked sharp reactions across the Muslim world. In the address, he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who described Mohammed's teachings as "evil and inhuman" and said faith had been spread by the sword. Benedict twice signaled that the words were a historical citation, not his own position, and added that violence is incompatible with the nature of God.
Responses came swiftly. Türkiye's Diyanet president Ali Bardakoglu called the remarks hateful and biased and said they threatened the pope's planned November visit to Türkiye. France's Muslim council called on the Vatican to clarify that it was not equating Islam with political Islamism. Officials in Kuwait demanded a formal public apology to the world's Muslim population.
The furor clouded what had otherwise been a warmly received trip. Crowds in Bavaria had welcomed a more relaxed and personable pontiff than his reputation suggested. The Regensburg address, however, undid much of the interfaith goodwill Benedict had built at Cologne a year earlier, where meetings with Muslim and Jewish leaders had been among the first priorities of his pontificate.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.