He stressed that the passages he quoted in his speech at Regensburg University "do not in any way express my personal thought".
"I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect," he added.
But this was not enough, according to Ash-Sharq in Qatar.
"To hide behind hollow and imprecise statements such as to declare himself saddened, or not having meant to cause offence... could spark conflict between adepts of the two biggest religions in the world," it said.
"Muslims are waiting for clear apologies in which Islam and its prophet are absolved from everything contained in the statements" made by the pope, the daily added.
It said the pontiff's remarks were all the more serious, since they came at a time when the Muslim world is facing "a hostile campaign", notably in "the occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq by foreign troops, as well as the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories".
Benedict's remarks "also come after Muslims were accused of fascism and terrorism, after the crisis over the Danish cartoons (depicting the Prophet Mohammed) and, well before this, (US President) George Bush's threat to lead a crusade against those he called 'extremist Muslims' the morning after the September 11 2001 attacks" on New York and Washington, Ash-Sharq concluded.
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