Mohammad’s Vatican trip revives calls for tolerance
The historic visit of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to the Vatican has been highly commended by UAE-based Muslim and Christian religious figures.
Ahmad Al Haddad, Grand Mufti of Dubai, said Shaikh Mohammad’s Vatican visit “enhances the cultural communication between Islam and Christianity and revives a very important Islamic approach that calls for tolerance, cooperation and cultural communication…”
Professor Dr Mohammad Abdul Rahim Sultan Al Olama, Member of the Grand Islamic Scholars Body in Dubai, said the visit comes at a “critical time” to fight “ignorance and hatred”.
Reverend Tim Heaney, parish priest for the Anglican Christ Church in Jebel Ali, said such a high-level meeting was “another very positive step” taken by the UAE leadership in building understanding about peaceful coexistence.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, toured the Vatican Library and Museum complex as part of his state visit to Vatican City on Thursday. The Vatican Library and Museum include manuscripts, historical artifacts and collectibles, paintings, sculptures and art objects.
Shaikh Mohammad and his delegation first toured the Vatican Museum, comprising several rooms including the fine arts gallery, which houses paintings created for the church. The second section, the Museum of Modern Art, includes art from the Renaissance period.
Shaikh Mohammad also visited the sculpture museum, which has works that date back to the Greek, Roman and Renaissance periods. He also visited a private display of the evolution of maps throughout history. Shaikh Mohammad was briefed on the rare frescoes, inscriptions and murals decorating the walls and ceilings of the Vatican and painted by some of the most renowned artists of the Renaissance period.
Present were Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Reem Ebrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation; Khaldoun Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority; Mohammad Mubarak Al Mazroui, Under Secretary of the Crown Prince’s Court, and Hessa Al Otaiba, UAE Non-Resident Ambassador to the Vatican.
a high-level meeting was “another very positive step” taken by the UAE leadership in building peaceful coexistence. He added that such interfaith developments serve to consolidate
efforts towards tolerance. Rev Heaney said that should Pope Francis visit the UAE, it would serve to provide encouragement to all Christians as they strive to work together as “good guests of this Muslim land”.
He said interfaith events in the UAE, or led by the UAE abroad, continue to contribute towards peaceful coexistence.