Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed meets with Pope Francis
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed has met the Pope to discuss how people from different religions can coexist peacefully…
In a wonderful showing of religious tolerance, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, met with the Pope at the Vatican today to talk about how to promote peace and security around the world.
Mohammed bin Zayed, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, shared details of his meeting with Pope Francis on Twitter and via an Instagram story. According to the UAE’s official news service the pair discussed “ways to strengthen bilateral relations and the service of humanitarian causes that promote peace and coexistence between different peoples and regions of the world.”
#Hazza_bin_Zayed: historic moment gather #Mohammed_bin_Zayed, Pope Francis 2 symbols share human love, divide reject pic.twitter.com/HCh0V2HzK2
— Forsan UAE – English (@Forsan_UAE_EN) September 15, 2016
During his visit to the Vatican, Mohamed bin Zayed says UAE values Pope Francis’s efforts to confront violence and extremism
— أخبار محمد بن زايد (@MBZNews) September 15, 2016
As Mohammed Bin Zayed explained in a tweet after his visit, they discussed how terrorism should be seen as an aberration and not be connected to the productive and peaceful people that make up the majority of Muslim society:
“For terrorist groups to be defeated, they should be treated as criminal gangs with nothing to do with any ethnicity, creed or locality”.
— أخبار محمد بن زايد (@MBZNews) September 15, 2016
The ruler went on to explain how the UAE and its residents of many religious and ethnic backgrounds are an exemplary example of how people of different backgrounds can live side-by-side happily.
“The UAE serves as a role model for coexistence among different cultures that are represented by the millions who live in the UAE”
— أخبار محمد بن زايد (@MBZNews) September 15, 2016
After today’s Vatican meeting, the Crown Prince is heading to Italy, where he’ll be meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to discuss ways of developing relations between the two countries.
Mohammed bin Zayed shared his meeting with the Pope via Instagram stories.
It’s estimated that around 1.5 million Muslims live in Italy but Islam is not formally recognised as a religion in the country.
According to a survey conducted by global attitudes and trends experts Pew Research Centre,Italians have the most unfavourable view of Muslims throughout the whole of Europe.
