MILANO, 2 October — Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday denied press reports that he claimed Western civilization was superior to Islam.

In an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, a sister publication of Arab News, he said: “I did not say anything against the Islamic civilization. It’s the work of some people in the Italian leftist press who wanted to tarnish my image and destroy my long-standing relations with Arabs and Muslims.”

The Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily interviewed the prime minister before his scheduled meeting with Arab ambassadors in Rome today. He is expected to visit the United States tomorrow for talks with President George W. Bush.

Berlusconi, a billionaire and a media baron with major television companies under his control, issued an apology to the Arabs and Muslims in a speech to the Italian Senate on Friday. In his apology, Berlusconi said he was sorry if his comments, misinterpreted by “fools” in the Italian press, had hurt Arabs and Muslims.

Berlusconi’s controversial comment, which sparked a worldwide storm of criticism, came while talking to Italian journalists during a visit to Berlin on Wednesday.

It was reported by the Italian media that Berlusconi had said: “We should be conscious of the superiority of our civilization, which consists of a value system that has given people widespread prosperity in those countries that embrace it, and guarantees respect for human rights and religion. This respect certainly does not exist in the Islamic countries.”

Tarek ibn Ammar, a well-known Arab journalist who is close to the Italian premier, said it was impossible for Berlusconi to make such a statement.

Muslim and non-Muslim leaders quickly condemned the statement as irresponsible. Belgians called Berlusconi the “Taleban of Europe” while the Spanish opposition leader said Berlusconi himself was out of step with Western civilization.

Berlusconi, in his interview, said: “I had told the journalists that I was happy that the United States had not taken any quick retaliatory action to the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the US, thus saving the world from causing harm to innocents. I also told them that the basic intent of terrorists is to escalate conflicts and trigger war and that we should not be drawn into it. Here ends my words on the Arab and Islamic worlds.”

He continued: “Later, I strongly criticized opponents of globalization in Italy who have threatened to sabotage the next WTO meeting. I said these people, who engage in destructive activities, will give a bad impression about Western culture and civilization as they do not appreciate Western values such as democracy and tolerance... This is what I said, I did not compare civilizations and did not attack any religion.”

“Later a journalist informed me that some people had mixed the two answers (the one about Bush and opponents of globalization) to make a negative story. In Italy most media organizations are under the control of leftists who think that I am their rival. My political programs are against leftists. I am the frequent target of the leftist media and thus the most attacked premier in Italy,” he explained.

Berlusconi insisted that he did not say anything against Islam and Muslims. “Why should I make an apology for something which I did not say. I am sorry for hurting my friends by the words which were falsely attributed to me.” He said he considered the media mix-up of his statement as a conspiracy against him.

Berlusconi agreed that there are extremists in every society and religion. “We suffered at the hands of the Red Brigade, until we finished them off and their terror tactics.”

He said he was proud of his good relation with Arabs. “There are about 400 mosques in Italy which represent our respect for Islam and Muslims,” he added. “If I was not keen to maintain good relations with the Arab and Islamic worlds, I would not have issued this clarification,” the prime minister said.

* (Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid is the editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat)