Relations between religion, in particular Christian and Islam, plunged almost to a new low last week after a mid-week remark by Pope Benedict XVI sparked anger and prompted a wave of protests around the Muslim world.

From the Middle East to Southeast Asia, the anger remained unabated over the weekend, with Muslim leaders around the world demanding that the Pope extract the controversial remark and issue a personal apology to the Muslims after he quoted in his speech a 14th century Christian emperor, referring to elements of the Muslim faith as 'evil and inhuman'.

According to the online version of Time magazine on Sept 12:

...in a riveting and provocative university lecture, the Pope explored the philosophical and historical differences between Islam and Christianity — a speech that would become the surprise centerpiece of a five-day visit that many had expected would be mostly just a walk down memory lane. [...]

He went so far as to quote a 14th century Byzantine emperor's hostile view of Islam's founder.

"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'"

Benedict added "I quote" twice to make it clear these were someone else's words. Nevertheless this reference was undoubtedly the most provocative moment of a provocative lecture. In a sense, explicitly including the Muslim prophet by name, and citing the concept of jihad, was a flashing neon signal to the world that the soft-spoken Pope intends to make himself heard clearly on this defining tension of our times." [Source: Time Online]

The Muslim reacted with anger but a word of "sorry" from the Pope himself on Monday has helped ease the tension although some say sorry was not enough.

Malaysia, the current chair of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), said it "can accept" the expression of regrets form the Pope:

"I think we can accept it and we hope there are no more statements that can anger Muslims," he (Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) told Malaysian journalists covering his working visit in New York for the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Abdullah said that when he mentioned the controversial papal comments in talks with US President George W. Bush earlier, the American leader responded that he respected Islam and viewed it as a religion of peace.

"When I touched on the matter during our discussions just now, I noted that it sparked intense reactions because the one who uttered it was the Pope himself. The Pope is not just any other person. That's why there has been much anger (on the part of Muslims)." [Source: Bernama)

So, what next? In another report, many Vatican experts in Rome regard the Pope's speech as "a mistake" and may endanger the live of Christians, in particular Catholics, living in Muslim countries.

"The West's relation with Islam is the most delicate issue facing our time. It is precisely for this reason that a religious leader like the pope should be very careful about what he says," Marco Politi, one of Italy's most respected papal watchers told Deutsche Presse Agentur [Source: M & C News]

Know what I think? I think the remark -- and the reactions and the refusal to accept the expression of regrets -- had let loose a much crazier monster in the dynamics of the conflict between the two religions and between the West and Islam.

This new monster, whose claws are much sharper than that of other monsters previously seen, would grow stronger each day as it is constantly being fed by the fiery expression of hatred from both sides.

Creatures like this one thrives on crisis and conspiracy, feeds on the gullible minds of overzealeous preachers and their brethren and spews out new offsprings each day to perpetuate and escalate the conflict and bring the abysmal relations further and further down.

Fortunately, mankind from all religions can still tame the monster if they wanted to -- by sobering up collectively to the reality there can never be a way for the six billion people in the world to embrace one, and only one, religion.

Once that is done, the creature would come of age and shed off some of the sharp claws and spew out less aggressive offsprings.

But that seems to be a lost dream at least on this very date, as angry reactions and expression of war and destruction continues on one side, and the suggestion that the "sorry" word was not really meant to express an apology, on the other.

On one side:

Al-Qaida militants in Iraq vowed war on "worshippers of the cross" and protesters burned a papal effigy yesterday over Pope Benedict's comments on Islam, while Western churchmen and statesmen tried to calm passions.

The statement by an umbrella group led by Iraq's branch of al-Qaida came after the Pontiff said on Sunday he was deeply sorry Muslims had been offended by his use of a medieval quotation on Islam and holy war.

"We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya," said a web statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council. [Source: China Daily]

On the other side:

The Pope's response to the anger his statements sparked in the Muslim world was more offensive than the statements themselves. He apologised not for what he said, but for Muslims' failure to grasp the intended meaning.

That the Pope should have quoted from a Byzantine text on Islam is hardly surprising. The line of continuity between Emanuel Paleologos's conception of Islam -- quoted in the papal speech -- and Benedict's has never been severed.

The massive body of terms, images and narratives on Islam which the church inherited from the middle ages survives intact. There, Islam is depicted as a false creed propagated through violence and promiscuity, with Muhammad as scoundrel, magician, heresiarch, and precursor of the anti-Christ. [Source: Guardian Unlimited]

I fear that the clock has started to tick back to the past -- an anomaly which could trigger a chain of events that would untimately lead to the destruction of the universe's most intelligent creation. Us.