More than 200 Muslims staged a sit-in Monday at the Sayyida Zeinab Shrine in Damascus to protest Pope Benedict XVI's remarks that sparked Muslim anger around the world.

The protest was called for by the Damascus office of Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, despite the pope's statement on Sunday that he was sorry his remarks about Islam and holy war had been misinterpreted and had caused offence.

Some Muslims considered this as inadequate, and demanded an outright apology by the pontiff.

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A statement issued by the representative office of Khamenei, who has a big following among Shias worldwide, urged the Pope to "openly and plainly apologize for his remarks."

Sheikh Mustafah Zakariya, a mosque preacher, said the pope's remarks "have political reasons and are aimed at pressuring the Arab and Muslim world." He reiterated calls on the pontiff to apologize.

During a speech last week in Germany, the pope, quoting from an obscure Medieval text, cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who had characterized some of the teachings of Islam's Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman."

Benedict on Sunday said that he was "deeply sorry" about the angry reaction and said the remarks came from a text that didn't reflect his own opinion.

Anger and violence over the pope's speech - including attacks on at least seven churches in Palestinian areas over the weekend - reflected one of the biggest international crises involving the Vatican in decades.

Sydney archbishop: Reaction to Pope's speech justifies his fears
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney said Monday that acts of violence in response to Pope Benedict XVI's speech about Muslims show that some in the Muslim world think linking religion and violence is justified.

"The violent reactions in many parts of the Islamic world justified one of Pope Benedict's main fears," Cardinal Pell said in a statement.

"They showed the link for many Islamists between religion and violence, their refusal to respond to criticism with rational arguments, but only with demonstrations, threats and actual violence," he said.

The Vatican has issued two separate statements expressing regret for any offense the remarks may have caused.

Pell backed the pope's speech, telling Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio the pontiff should be allowed to speak without fearing that he would face the threat of violence.

He said some Australian Muslim leaders who had criticized the pope's remarks were being unhelpful because they avoided the issue of violence committed by some Muslims.

"Our major priority must be to maintain peace and harmony within the Australian community, but no lasting achievements can be grounded in fantasies and evasions."

Pell recognized contributions made by moderate Muslims, but added "evil acts done falsely in the name of Islam around the world need to be addressed, not swept under the carpet."

The Vatican has instructed its envoys in Muslim countries to explain Pope Benedict's words on Islam, which caused widespread fury and led to a personal apology by the pontiff.

Benedict's new Secretary of State, who took office only last Friday as Muslims around the world were protesting, said the Holy See's nuncios (ambassadors) in Muslim countries would be visiting government and religious leaders.

China: Pope's comments 'insulting' and 'hurtful'
A Chinese religious official said Monday that the Pope's comments were insulting to Islam and hurtful to Chinese Muslims, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

"In his speech, Benedict had insulted both Islam and the Prophet Mohammed," Chen Guangyuan, president of Islamic Association of China, was quoted as saying in an interview with Xinhua.

"This has gravely hurt the feelings of the Muslims across the world, including those from China," he told Xinhua.

The Pope's comments could undermine efforts at reconciliation by Beijing and the Holy See. The pope has repeatedly expressed the hope that the Vatican could achieve an opening with China, but the two sides remain sharply divided over who has the power to appoint bishops.

Beijing's ties with the Vatican were broken in 1951 after the communists took power in China. Worship is only allowed in government-controlled churches, but millions belong to unofficial congregations loyal to Rome.

Outrage in Muslim countries
About 500 Iraqi supporters of the radical Shiite Grand Ayatollah Mahmoud al-Hassani marched in the Iraqi city of Basra on Monday, carrying black flags in protest of the pope's comments.

The protesters chanted slogans and burned an effigy of the pope with a large black cross painted on its chest. They also burned Vatican and American flags.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Badrani, al-Hassani's spokesman in Basra said the pope should be tried by a Muslim court.

"I demand that the pope and all the members who took part, heard about and
accept these attacks on the prophet, to be presented to the court," he said.

The Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of Al-Qaida, vowed a war against the "worshippers of the cross" in response to the pope's speech on Islam.

"We tell the worshipper of the cross that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya," said the group's statement, posted Sunday on an Internet site often used by Al-Qaida and other militant groups.

Another militant group in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, also vowed to fight Christians over the comments.

"You will only see our swords until you go back to God's true faith Islam," it said in a separate statement on the Internet.

Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said Monday that the pope's speech saying he regretted the uproar over his remarks on Islam was a "good gesture" but not enough.

Elham demanded a clearer apology, saying that the pope must express "more clearly and frankly that his remarks had been conveyed wrongly and correct them as soon as possible."

On Sunday, numerous religious seminaries in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim Iran were closed and about 500 Iranian theological school students rallied in the holy city of Qom to protest at the lecture.

Bishops meet in Istanbul
Catholic bishops met in Istanbul on Monday morning to discuss the pope's upcoming visit to Turkey amid an uproar in the Islamic world over his comments about Islam and holy war.

A chorus of voices in Turkey has been calling for Pope Benedict XVI to cancel his November visit - his first visit to a Muslim country as pope - if he does not apologize for his remarks.

The bishops' meeting in Istanbul had been scheduled long before the pope made his statement and was closed to the press, Vatican officials said. They said there would be no official announcement after the meeting.