Pope starts Middle East tour

The pope travelled to Jordan today at the start of his first Middle East visit as a self-proclaimed pilgrim of peace.

But he could face criticism from Muslims still upset over past comments he made about the prophet Mohammed.

Jordan’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood has demanded the pope apologise for his September 2006 speech in which he quoted a Medieval text that characterised some of Mohammed’s teachings as “evil and inhuman,” particularly “his command to spread by the sword the faith”.

The pope has already said he was “deeply sorry” over the reaction to his speech and that the passage he quoted did not reflect his own opinion. But he has not issued a public apology as demanded by the Brotherhood.

A Vatican spokesman said it had made all possible clarifications, adding: “We cannot continue until the end of the world to repeat the same clarifications.”

The pope is also scheduled to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories during his week-long Middle East tour. His three-day stay in Jordan is his first visit to an Arab country as pope.

During his time in Jordan, the pope is due to meet with Muslim religious leaders at Amman’s largest mosque – his second visit to a Muslim place of worship since becoming pope in 2005. He prayed in Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque, a gesture that helped calm the outcry over his remarks.

He is also expected to meet with King Abdullah and Queen Rania, as well as Iraqi Christians driven from their homeland by violence.