Pope Francis on Monday held talks with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi during a historic three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates.
During his address, the pontiff urged leaders to embrace peace saying the consequences of war are deadly and have left many countries in disarray.
The document was signed in the name of “all victims of wars, persecution and injustice; and those tortured in any part of the world, without distinction”
It said: “We resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood.”
The grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque and university, called on the Muslims in West Asia to “embrace” local Christian communities while telling the Christians that they are “citizens of this nation with full rights and responsibilities”.
“Continue to embrace your brothers the Christian citizens everywhere, for they are our partners in our nation,” said the grand imam, who is the highest seat of learning in Sunni Islam.
Pope Francis also called for full religious freedom in the Muslim- majority region, where restrictions are placed on non-Muslim expressions of faith. To promote “concrete paths of peace” people of different religions will have to come together, he said.
The pontiff also flagged the dangers of “fake news” after the boycott of Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The crisis had begun after Qatar’s state-run news agency was hacked and fake items were published.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb had also hosted Pope Francis in 2017 to improve relations between Catholics and Muslims.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, expressed his delight at hosting the Pope saying the visit will go a long way in creating stability in future.
“The leadership & nation of the UAE are proud of this historic visit of two greatly respected religious figures.
“It embodies our belief in the values of love & tolerance as a pathway for humanity towards peace, security, stability & rapprochement between different people & culture,” he said.
Kiss and controversy :
An image of what, from the main look, appears to be a kiss on the lips between Pope Francis and Grand Imam Sheik Ahmed Al Tayeb has created some excitement on the web – yet the demonstration was to a greater degree a peck on the cheek than an all out kiss.
If all the religious leaders ‘whole heartedly’ work for peace .. we will surely make it one day.