Francisco is happy "to write a page of history" since he is the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula

Pope Francis did not unpack his suitcase after returning from Panama, which is already on his way back to the UAE, a visit that makes him "happy" because he is going there.write a new page in the history of interreligious relations"This trip from February 3 to 5 is the first of a pope of the Arabian Peninsula, with which he wishes to send a message of approach to Islam and in favor of interreligious dialogue.

"I am happy […] to write in his beloved country a new page in the relations between religions, confirming that we are brothers although different", emphasized the Sovereign Pontiff in a message addressed to the Emirati people.

In this video in Italian, broadcast with a dubbed in Arabic, the Pope thanks the Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for his invitation to participate in an interfaith meeting on the theme of "human fraternity". The opportunity to find a "dear friend and brother", the great Sunni Imam of Al Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayeb, that he returned to Egypt in 2017.

For Francisco, the organization of this interreligious meeting reflects "the courage and willingness to affirm that faith in God unites and does not divide, despite the differences, away from hostility and prejudice." 39; aversion. "

The pontiff also wished to emphasize that the United Arab Emirates are "a earth trying to be a model of coexistence, of human fraternity and encounter across different civilizations and cultures, where many find a safe place to work and live freely with respect for diversity ".

"I am happy to meet a people who live in the present with an eye on the future," he added.

Unlike its Saudi neighbor, which prohibits the practice of religions other than Islam, the United Arab Emirates want to project the image of one. tolerant country. Your 90% foreign population, has many Christians, especially among Indian and Filipino workers.

Unlike his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis favors interpersonal encounters in relation to theological badyzes related to the Koran. In addition, its incessant requests for refugees, mostly Muslims, have been appreciated by the Muslim community, as has the gesture of transferring on the pontifical plane three families of this religion who are refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos. .
The 2017 visit of the spiritual leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics in Egypt also strengthened relations with the great Sunni Imam Al-Tayeb, a professor of Islamic philosophy, who criticizes jihadists inspired by rigorous Salafism.