Sultan Al Remeithi, former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Elders, describes the pontificate from an Islamic perspective. The signing of the document on “Fraternity”, the affirmation of the values of Christianity against materialism and the trips to Muslim countries “transcend dialogue”. The “challenges” that arise and the “voice of reason” against extremism and terrorism.
Milan () – Francis enjoys “great admiration” in the Islamic world for his “firm and deep faith in human brotherhood” and for his “constant and lasting support” for the “resolution of conflicts” in the world, especially “in developing countries”, Sultan Al Remeithi, former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Elders and member of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, told . Al Remeithi talks about the relationship of the Argentine Pope with the Muslim world in the decade Relations between Christians and Muslims, he says, “have become much clearer and more transparent since 2013,” because the Islamic world “began to clearly distinguish between the spirituality and values of Christianity and the moral decadence of societies materialists [occidentales] modern”.
One of the characteristic elements of the pontificate of the Argentine Pope – who ascended the throne of Peter on March 13, 10 years ago – is the relationship with the Sunni Muslim world (with a privileged dialogue with the imam of al-Azhar) and Shiite after years of tension and misunderstanding of the papacy of Benedict XVI, which nevertheless had opened up new spaces for dialogue with Islam. There are three important moments in this decade: the signing of the document on “Fraternity” during the historic trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2019; the apostolic trip to Iraq, the first of Pope Francis after the confinements and closures forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, in March two years ago, and the meeting with Ayatollah al-Sistani in Najaf; and the visit to Bahrain, in the Apostolic Vicariate of North Arabia, in November of last year, in which the common commitment to dialogue, religious freedom and the protection of creation was reaffirmed and, above all, to the struggle against violence justified by religion.
Sultan Al Remeithi served as Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Elders, a respected institution based in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), chaired by al-Azhar Imam Ahmed al-Tayyib. It was founded on July 18, 2014 to “promote peace in Muslim communities” and “defuse conflicts,” as the presentation document explains, and brings together Muslim scholars, legal experts, and dignitaries “known for their wisdom, sense of justice, independence and moderation”. One of its objectives is to counteract “confessional violence and sectarianism”, a fundamental task for an association born at the time when the Islamic State (IS, former Isis) with its ideology based on terror and death came to occupy almost the half of the territories of Iraq and Syria.
“The Catholic Church – says Al Remeithi – has been working for a long time to promote interreligious dialogue” through a Vatican department dedicated to this purpose. “Since he is pontiff, Pope Francis has wanted to visit and see with his own eyes several countries in the Middle East whose populations are predominantly Muslim.” Decisions and gestures that “transcend dialogue”, as an “extension of goodwill and personal interaction”. “This – warns the Muslim expert – has undoubtedly been a very positive step to strengthen dialogue and cultivate” a climate of “good will in future generations”.
The dialogue in general, warns the former secretary, requires “patience and determination” so that the results on the ground are “clearly visible”, an element that has also “highlighted” the encyclical “Fratelli tutti”. “The Middle East – it continues – has long been a cauldron of conflicts and all parties must work together to guarantee a lasting and effective peace in the region.”
The three apostolic trips to countries with a Muslim majority, the Emirates, Bahrain and Iraq, which constituted an absolute novelty for a pontiff, also collaborate and above all to consolidate the relationship between the Pope and the Islamic world. Trips prepared with a lot of time and inspired by the work of dialogue and encounter of the saint of Assisi whose name the pontiff bears. “There is no doubt – says Sultan Al Remeithi – that these three visits were significant moments in the history of relations” between Christians and Muslims. In each of them the Pope “spoke clearly and sincerely about the challenges facing the region, asking that the voice of reason prevail. Likewise, his calls to the Arab world to support Lebanon in its current crisis revealed his genuine and deep love for the region and its people.” Religions “encourage” people to show “love and respect” for the world in which they live, he concludes, and these “values” must “prevail in societies” so that “interreligious dialogue is successful and all pending conflicts can be resolved.”
