Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on Islam has caused unease here with Hamid Ansari, chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, objecting to the language used by the pontiff.

“The language used by the Pope sounds like that of his 12th century counterpart who ordered the Crusade,” Ansari said.

Speaking in Regensburg in Germany on Tuesday, the Pope, quoting Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus, had said: “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 the sword by the faith he preached.”

He went on to say that violent conversion to Islam was contrary to reason and thus “contrary to God’s nature”.

The Catholic Church in the country, however, maintained that the Pope’s observations had been “quoted out of context” by a section of the media.

“The Pope was speaking about faith and reason, of shunning violence. His comments were not directed against any religion, let alone Islam,” said Father Babu Joseph, spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, the apex body of Catholics in the country.

Playing down the relevance here of papal observations, Father Valson Thampu, member of the National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, said one should not attach much importance to such “overseas pronouncements”.

“There is a vast difference in the contexts of India and the West. For example, Catholics and Protestants fight each other in Belfast, but don’t do the same in

India. Similarly, Sunnis and Shias may have fights in another country, but they live in peace here. It’s always better that we study each other’s religion and understand them rather than attaching too much importance to comments made elsewhere,” he said.