CAIRO - The head of the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood called on Islamic countries to threaten on Thursday to break off relations with the Vatican unless Pope Benedict withdraws remarks about Islam he made in Germany.

Pope Benedict XVI waves farewell from the gangway of the Munich international airport September 14, 2006, following his nostalgic six-day apostolic journey to his homeland Bavaria and some of its most traditional catholic places. [Reuters]

Mohamed Mahdi Akef, whose organisation is one of the oldest, largest and most influential in the Arab world, said Pope Benedict "poured oil on the fire, aroused the anger of the whole Islamic world and strengthened the argument of those who say that the West is hostile to everything Islamic".

In his speech at the University of Regensburg on Tuesday, the Pope appeared to endorse a Christian view, contested by most Muslims, that the early Muslims spread Islam by violence.

He repeated criticism of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad by the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus, who ruled in the late 14th century and who is recorded as saying that everything Mohammad brought was evil and inhumane "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".

The overall theme of the Pope's speech was faith and reason but his reference to the Byzantine emperor suggested that he shared the emperor's view that by advocating violence Islam was irrational and incompatible with God's nature.

Akef said he condemned the Pope's remarks because "they do not show a true understanding of Islam but are an extension of mistaken and distorted ideas current in the West.

"The general guide (Akef) expressed his surprise that such comments should come from someone who sits at the summit of the Catholic church and who has an influence over public opinion in the West," said a statement on the Muslim Brotherhood's official Web site, www.ikhanonline.com.

"He called on the Pope to apologise and asked the governments of Islamic states and civil society organisations to protest and threaten to break off relations with the Vatican if the Pope does not apologise," it said.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a broad religious, social, political and charitable organisation founded in 1928. It has no legal existence but its members hold about one fifth of the seats in the Egyptian parliament, making it the largest opposition group.