Beyond protocol and the globally popular discourse on interfaith dialogue, the performance of the late Pope Francis towards Muslims stood out with a practical positivity that he enshrined in ideas, actions, and visits that opened the door to direct meetings with their importance in strengthening relations.
Therefore, it was not surprising that Pope Francis visited 10 Muslim countries between his election on 19 March 2013 and his death.
The Pope spent 12 years in dialogue with Muslims by adopting a positive discourse that rejects stereotyping, as evidenced by one of his famous speeches: “Islam should not be associated with violence, and if I talk about Islamic violence, I must talk about Catholic violence, not all Muslims are advocates of violence.”
From this solid intellectual ground, Pope Francis started his dialogue with Muslims, considering them and Christians as “brothers”.
Peace for and with Muslims
“There can be no peace in the world without peace with Islam” was one of the most prominent key phrases in Pope Francis’ speech and his perceptions towards this religion and its followers. This was evident from his first speech, in which he expressed his desire to intensify dialogue and build bridges with Muslims and non-believers, and pledged to “strengthen relations between the Catholic Church and other religions, especially Islam”.
He soon followed through with his words and began to put his call into practice, visiting a number of Muslim-majority countries. He began this process with a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. Notably, in front of the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, he placed his head in front of it and prayed. Many interpreted this as a “prayer against the occupation”. Visits to Egypt and Morocco followed.
In 2019, the visit of Pope Francisto theUnited Arab Emirates was a milestone, as he was the first Catholic Pope to visit a country in the Arabian Gulf. There, he dedicated his friendship and dialogue with the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb by signing the “Document of Human Fraternity for World Peace and Coexistence”.
The second notable visit was to Iraq in 2021, which witnessed a historic meeting in the city of Najaf between Pope Francis and the Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, despite all the difficulties at the time, especially the spread of the Corona pandemic.
Dialogue in words and deeds
Speaking to Euronews, Ahmed Mohsen, professor of religious thought at Saint Joseph University (Jesuit) in Lebanon, believes that the Pope’s vision towards Muslims can be summarised by two main events: The first is the document of brotherhood and humanity that he signed with the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, and the second is his visit to Najaf’s top Shiite cleric, Ayat Ali al-Sistani.
Mohsen explains the dimensions of the two visits, saying: “The two visits not only contributed to the recovery of the relationship between religious institutions, but were also based on direct meetings and dialogues, which means there is a mutual recognition that establishes a new relationship that is not based on the binary of proselytising.”
Mohsen summarises the “trends” produced by the signing of the document and the visit to Najaf, the most prominent of which is “the tendency to direct action in terms of dialogue and breaking thick layers of ice, after the Vatican’s discourse towards Muslims had been more rhetorical than practical.”
Other visits to Muslim countries by the Pope equally sent a message of dialogue and cooperation. These include his participation in the Seventh Interfaith Leaders Conference in September 2022, which was hosted by Muslim-majority Kazakhstan. From there, the Pope went on an official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Perhaps his visit to Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, was the embodiment of his statement: “Dialogue is the only way to get rid of extremism and division”. It was there that the Joint Declaration was signed between Pope Francis and the Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, with “Promoting Religious Harmony for Humanity” at the centre of the document.
The Pope and war
However, Pope Francis did not flatter any party on what he viewed as mistakes that need to be corrected, and this was perhaps one of the most prominent positions that gave solid signals about his respect for the rights of Muslims and his view of them.
From the UAE, which was a member of the Arab coalition that launched the attack on Yemen in 2015, Pope Francis called for urgent measures to respect the ceasefire agreement in this war-weary country and allow humanitarian aid to enter it.
The late Pope also rejected US President Trump’s announcement that he would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US embassy there. He called for the holy city to be open to the three religions, in a position that is completely contrary to the American and Israeli positions.
As for Gaza, the pontiff described the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip as brutal, which caused great discomfort in the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and was welcomed in the Muslim world.
Pope Francis rejected the stereotyping of Muslims. He described the phenomenon of Islamophobia as abhorrent. He has always emphasised two fundamental concepts in Christianity and Islam: the “love” of Jesus and the “brotherhood” of Muhammad, “through which we can build bridges and tear down walls”, as he once said.
Latin Jesuit background
Pope Francis’ background, as the first Jesuit Pope, may have played an important role in his activism and positions. “Jesuits have always been characterised as energetic, active and hardworking,” according to Mohsen.
“The Pope has restored to the Church a relative independence from Western discourse, and has expressed a clear differentiation from Eurocentrism on important issues such as migrants and migration,” the professor added.
