Pope Francis visits UAE

His Holiness Pope Francis, the head of Catholic Church visited United Arab Emirates on his 27th Apostolic Journey. He is the first pontiff to visit the Arabian Peninsula – the birth place of Islam. 

Background

There are 4 million Christians in the Middle East. Christians in the Middle East face persecution –in various grades, depending on the country in question– and are often isolated. Blasphemy and apostasy still carry potential death sentences.

The proportion of Christians in the Middle East has fallen to about 4% of the population from about 20% before the 1st World War. They are more or less permitted to practise their religion, though never to make converts. There are legal Christian churches in all the Gulf states barring  Saudi Arabia.

Since becoming the Head of Catholic Church, Pope Francis has called for more dialogue between Muslims and Catholics. He said that his title of "pontiff" means "builder of bridges”. In 2016, Pope Francis met with Ahmed el-Tayeb at the Vatican, the first meeting between the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and the leader of Catholic Church. 

Analysis

Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, began a historic visit to the UAE. The visit marks a new beginning in relations between the UAE and the Vatican as Pope Francis become the first Pontiff to visit the Arabian Peninsula.

The pontiff is in the UAE to attend the Global Conference on Human Fraternity at the behest of the UAE's leadership, which has proclaimed 2019 the "Year of Tolerance". Pope Francis said the trip marks "a new page in the history of relations between religions, confirming that we are brothers and sisters, even though we are different." He tweeted before his journey "I am about to leave for the United Arab Emirates. I am visiting that Country as a brother, in order to write a page of dialogue together, and to travel paths of peace together. Pray for me." 

The Pope met with the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and held a meeting with Sheikh  Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's al-Azhar mosque, which is the highest seat of learning for Sunni Muslims. Sheikh Zayed said that the visit is especially important in promoting the values of fraternity, peace and peaceful coexistence.

For the first time, a Catholic mass will be held in an outdoor venue. Around 135,000 people are expected to gather at the Zayed Sports City for the Papal Mass on February 5.

Sheikh Mohamed said “the UAE has been, and will continue to be, a beacon of tolerance, moderation and coexistence. It will be a key participant in the dialogue of civilisations and cultures and will continue to oppose intolerance and extremism regardless of its origin, thus embodying the noble human values it believes in as well as the openness and moderation that has always characterised its people”.

The Pope expressed concern about the war in Yemen, in which the UAE is engaged. "The population [in Yemen] is exhausted by the lengthy conflict and a great many children are suffering from hunger, but cannot access food depots," the Pope said. "The cry of these children and their parents rises up to God," he said.

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter  “The United States applauds Pope Francis arrival in UAE as an historic moment for religious freedom. He added, “The first Holy Mass by a Pope in the Arabian Peninsula promotes peace and understanding between two of the world's great religions”.

In a sign that regional politics was playing a not-insignificant role in Francis' visit, the papal plane flew north of Qatar and around the peninsular. By avoiding Qatari airspace, Francis omitted sending a telegram of greetings to the country's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as he would normally do when flying through the airspace of countries.

Assessment

Our assessment is that this historical visit has provided an opportunity  to look at inclusiveness and the human rights record in the Arabian Peninsula. We feel that this move will enable the Arab world to begin reversing the invoked image of extremism and terrorism. It can be noted that UAE is Saudi Arabia’s military partner in its war against Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen. It is also likely that this visit might loosen curbs on religious freedom in the larger Arab World, particularly in Saudi Arabia.