VATICAN CITY, Sept 14: Pope Benedict respects Islam but rejects violence motivated by religion, his spokesman said on Thursday after the pontiff faced sharp criticism for linking Islam with violence.

The pope seeks to ‘cultivate an attitude of respect and dialogue toward other religions and cultures and obviously also toward Islam’, said Father Federico Lombardi in an official statement.

“It should be said that what is important to the pope is a clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation of violence,” said Lombardi, who heads the Vatican’s press department.

“It was certainly not the intention of the Holy Father to do an in-depth study of jihad and Muslim thinking in this field and still less so to hurt the feelings of Muslim believers,” he added in the statement.—AFP