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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) -- About 1,000 clerics and religious scholars at a meeting in eastern Pakistan demanded the removal of the pope for making "insulting remarks" against Islam, and warned the West of severe consequences if it didn't change its stance regarding Islam.
Pope Benedict XVI "should be removed from his position immediately for encouraging war and fanning hostility between various faiths" and "making insulting remarks" against Islam, said a joint statement issued by the clerics and scholars at the end of their one-day convention in the eastern city of Lahore.
The "Pope, and all Infidels, should know that no Muslim, under any circumstances, can tolerate an insult to the Prophet (Muhammad).... If the West does not change its stance regarding Islam, it will face severe consequences," it said.
The meeting, organized by the radical Islamic Jamaat al-Dawat group, came days after the pope apologized for his remarks on Islam.
Last week in Germany, the pope quoted a medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman" and referred to spreading Islam "by the sword."
But on Sunday, he said those words did not reflect his own opinions.
However, the clerics and religious scholars -- who gathered in the eastern city of Lahore from across the country -- in a joint statement claimed that the pope had never apologized.
"The Pope has neither accepted his mistake, nor apologized for his words," it said.
The statement also said jihad was not terrorism and that "Islam was not propagated with the sword, but it became popular and was accepted by the oppressed peoples of the world because of its universal values and teachings."
"Jihad is waged to rid an area, state, or the world of oppression, violence, cruelty, and terrorism, and bring peace and relief to the people. History is full of incidents where Muslims waged Jihad to provide relief to people of many faiths, especially Jews and Christians," it said.
Pakistan is the world's second most populous Islamic country, and its people have held small rallies since the publication of pope's remarks about Islam.
However, such rallies have been peaceful. Islamabad has also condemned the pope's remarks.
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