Pope Benedict XVI has invited the ambassadors of Muslim countries at the Vatican to a meeting at his summer palace of Castel Gandolfo on Monday, a senior Vatican official confirmed today.

Muslim religious leaders are also expected to take part in the audience, as is a Muslim council that advised the Italian government on integration issues, according to Ansa, the Italian news agency.

The Vatican has sought such a meeting as part of diplomatic efforts to explain to offended Muslims that a speech made by the Pope in Germany about Islam's relationship with violence has been misunderstood.

The Holy See has dispatched its own ambassadors to explain the Pope’s speech in depth, while Benedict has followed up his own unprecedented statement of regret last Sunday by telling thousands of pilgrims at the Vatican on Wednesday that worldwide Muslim anger was the result of an "unfortunate misunderstanding".

Benedict also expressed his respect for followers of all religions, "particularly Muslims", during a weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square. He reiterated that parts of the speech which offended Muslims — in which he quoted the words of a 14th Century Byzantine emperor who described Islam as "evil and inhuman" — did not reflect his personal opinion, and hoped it could yet lead to dialogue between religions.

Next Monday's meeting indicates that the Holy See believes that its diplomatic charm offensive is working, and anger is beginning to subside. Initial reactions to the meeting were encouraging.

"We welcome it and are definitely going to participate," Ahmad Faihma, Iran’s deputy ambassador to the Holy See, told Reuters. "This is a positive signal from the Vatican. I know that this will improve relations with the Islamic world."

Iran had previously condemned the speech, which the Islamic Republic's supreme leader described as part of a global conspiracy against Muslims led by President Bush.

In another positive sign, Morocco’s ambassador to the Holy See resumed his functions in Rome yesterday, after Rabat recalled Ambassador Ali Achour on Saturday for consultations at the height of the furore over Benedict’s remarks.

The leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics has come under pressure to make an unequivocal apology over his comments linking Islam with violence, which triggered street protests, death threats, and attacks on Catholic churches in the Muslim world. Earlier this week, General Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani President, called for a ban on the "defamation of Islam" in a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York.

"We also need to bridge, through dialogue and understanding, the growing divide between the Islamic and Western worlds," General Pervez Musharraf told the 192-member assembly. "It is imperative to end racial and religious discrimination against Muslims and to prohibit the defamation of Islam".

Referring indirectly to the Pope, he said: "It is most disappointing to see personalities of high standing oblivious of Muslim sensitivities at these critical moments".

Yesterday the Archbishop of Westminster entered the row when he questioned whether Turkey should be admitted to the European Union. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, spiritual leader of the four million Catholics in England and Wales, echoed concerns shared by the Pope when he argued that the predominantly Muslim state was not culturally part of Europe.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 programme Today, he questioned the position of Tony Blair, who has argued that Turkey should be allowed to join on the ground that to exclude it would be damaging. The Cardinal said: "There may be another view that the mixture of cultures is not a good idea."

He added: "I think the question is for Europe. Will the admission of Turkey to the European Union be something that benefits a proper dialogue or integration of a very large, predominantly Islamic, country in a continent that, fundamentally, is Christian?"

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