CAIRO - Christians and political leaders in the Middle East on Wednesday looked to new Pope Benedict XVI to press on with his much-admired predecessor's policy of promoting peace and dialogue between faiths.
The late pope John Paul II, the first pontiff in history to enter a mosque and a synagogue, won respect throughout the region for his efforts to bring the world's great monotheistic faiths together.
The conservative outlook of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger that has caused controversy in the Western world appeared not to overly concern religious leaders in the Middle East, who looked for continuity.
Egyptian Coptic Catholic Bishop Yohanna Qulta, whose community numbers over 200,000 faithful and sees the pope as its spiritual leader, was among the first to offer the new pope his congratulations.
"We congratulate the Catholic church and the Christian world, we hope that Pope Benedict XVI will continue on the road traced by Pope John Paul II and carry on with his efforts, especially as far as dialogue is concerned and reaching out to a world much in need of a Christian outlook."
Asked for his opinion about the appointment of yet another conservative pope, he said: "I believe that the church has chosen Cardinal Ratzinger as a bridge between John Paul II and another, younger pope. Cardinal Ratzinger is 78 years old and he may not stay on very long."
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he looked forward to working with the new pontiff.
"We are attached to continuing the work begun with your predecessor John Paul II... with whom we agreed to work for peace and justice in the world and for friendship and dialogue between religions and civilisations," he said.
Jordan's King Abdullah II expressed his trust in the pope's "wisdom and courage to go forward and continue his predecessor's mission with strength and faith to bring about world peace and reinforce respect between religions".
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas sent a message of congratulations to the new pontiff, saying: "I hope you will continue to work for peace in the Holy Land."
Israel also saluted the election of Benedict, urging him to fight anti-Semitism and continue John Paul II's policy of reconciliation with Jews.
"He is well known as a friend of the Jewish people. I hope and I pray that he will follow the path of Pope John Paul II," said the chief rabbi of Tel Aviv Israel Lau.
"The last time I met him in New York he spoke most forcefully against anti-Semitism," Lau, a former chief rabbi of Israel, told army radio.
"Given his historical experience, we hope the new pope will be faithful to the commitment of the Catholic church to fight anti-Semitism," said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Newspapers in multi-confessional Lebanon, where about one quarter of the population is Catholic, said the appointment of Ratzinger was a sign of "continuity" after his conservative predecessor.
The liberal An-Nahar newspaper said the "election of a conservative German reflects the will of the cardinals to pursue the conservative path of the late John Paul II."
The leftist As-Safir daily also said Ratzinger would steer the church "toward doctrinal conservatism."
"The election of the new pope was a surprise because his (older) age and his conservative ideas that are controversial both inside the church and among followers," it said.
Yunaden Kanha, the only Christian lawmaker in the Iraqi parliament, expressed satisfaction with the election of the new pope and wished he would bring hope to his violence-scarred country.
"We are frankly very happy with the quick election of Benedict XVI and we hope he will follow the path of John Paul II. We hope that he will continue a policy of peace, security and stability in the world, especially in our country where there is so much violence."
In the Arabian peninsula, the United Arab Emirates' President Sheikh Khalifa ben Zayed al-Nahyan wished the pope "success in his mission and his efforts aimed at continuing dialogue between all religions and civilisations, so as to consolidate peace, justice and tolerance in the world."
In Kuwait, Emir Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah reportedly sent a congratulatory telegram to the pope, while eminent Shiite Mohammad Baqer al-Mohri expressed his hope that Benedict XVI would "preserve the Church's independence" and "not give in to political pressure".
Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad ben Khalifa al-Thani, and the crown prince also sent telegrams congratulating the new pope on his appointment, the QNA agency reported.

04/20/2005 18:33 GMT