Conservative US preacher Jerry Falwell apologized for...

Conservative US preacher Jerry Falwell apologized for calling the prophet Mohammad a terrorist, saying he meant no disrespect to "any sincere, law abiding Muslim."
The apology came after top Iranian and British officials condemned the remarks, which Falwell made in an interview on the October 6 edition of CBS news show "60 Minutes."
"I think Muhammad was a terrorist," Falwell said in the interview. "I read enough of the history of his life written by both Muslims and - non-Muslims, (to know) that he was a - a violent man, a man of war."
The comments angered Muslims around the world, triggering Hindu-Muslim clashes in western India that left at least nine people dead. There were protests in Kashmir, the disputed province at the heart of a military standoff between India and Pakistan, and outside the offices of CBS News in New York.
Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi condemned the remarks as encouraging violence.
"What this American priest said encourages war among civilizations and also increases crises and it should be confronted," Kharrazi said.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who was in Iran to seek Tehran's support for a tough U.N. resolution on Iraq, said he regarded Falwell's comments "as much an insult to me as a Christian as they are to Muslims."
Falwell, a conservative Baptist and a leading voice for the Christian right in America, said in a prepared statement that he was sorry for the hurt feelings caused by his comments.
"I sincerely apologize that certain statements of mine made during an interview for CBS's '60 Minutes' were hurtful to the feelings of many Muslims.
"I intended no disrespect to any sincere, law abiding Muslim," he said.
Falwell said his error came from answering a "controversial and loaded question" at the end of an hour-long interview.
"That was a mistake and I apologize," he said.