Turkey's top Muslim leader Ali Bardakoglu on Friday asked Pope Benedict XVI to retract and make an apology for his recent comments criticizing Islam, the semi- official Anatolia news agency reported.

"This is an extraordinarily worrying, saddening and unfortunate statement both in the name of the Christianity and common peace of humanity," Bardakoglu, head of Turkey's state-run Religious Affairs Directorate, told Anatolia.

In his speech at Regensburg University in Germany on Tuesday, Pope Benedict quoted a 14th-century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Muhammad had brought the world "evil and inhuman" things, while denouncing connections between Islam and violence.

In an interview with Anatolia, Bardakoglu described the pope's comments as unacceptable, saying "statements of the pope are not within the framework of virtues like respect to others and respect to the religion. This is not even a criticism."

"If he (the pope) is trying to malign the holy values, prophet and holy book of a religion, this is insolence, a hostile expression and something unfortunate triggering clash of religions, " Bardakoglu added.

"If the pope was reflecting the spite, hatred and enmity in his own inside world, then the situation was even worse," Bardakoglu warned.

On Thursday, Bardakoglu also spoke out against the pope's planned visit to Turkey in November on an invitation from the government and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Istanbul, according to the Turkish Daily News.

Bardakoglu suggested the Pontiff should not visit Turkey if he holds such critical views about Islam.

Source: Xinhua