For the first time in history, the head of the Catholic Church and the leader of the Shiite Islamic clerical establishment are meeting in Iraq, the very cradle of civilisation.
As a British Muslim Iraqi interfaith leader, who has had the good fortune to meet both these figures during the course of my work, I believe that this unprecedented meeting between Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani comes at a crucial time.
With politics increasingly polarised in the midst of a global pandemic, amid an unprecedented economic downturn stoking extremism from all sides, the coming together of these two leading figures from the Islamic and Christian worlds offers a profound symbol of the inherent unity of these two great faiths.
That this is the first meeting Pope Francis has undertaken since the beginning of the pandemic signals its momentous significance. Before meeting Mr Al Sistani, the Pope will have met Iraq’s top political leaders. But he is visiting many Christian communities: in Baghdad, the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation – the site of the devastating 2010 terrorist attack which killed 58 people; in Erbil, he will hold Holy Mass; and in Mosul, he will offer prayers for the fallen and victims of terrorism.
These visits are a sobering reminder of the carnage from which Iraq emerged, when the terrorist group ISIS rampaged across the country, singling out Christian homes and businesses. The terrorists painted the symbol “n” – Arabic shorthand for Nasrani, or Nazarene – on front doors and shutters, and targeted them ruthlessly.
To Iraqi Christians, the world must have looked bleak with little hope in sight. Now, seven years on with the ISIS reign of terror behind us, the Pope’s tour of the country offers renewed hope to both its Muslim and Christian citizens.
That is why Pope Francis’s meeting with Mr Al Sistani in the Holy City of Najaf represents such a significant step forward – not just for Iraq and its diverse faith communities, but for the entire world.
Najaf is the final resting place of Imam Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, who would regularly refer to the sayings of Jesus when teaching his followers. It is also the home of the 1,000-year-old Islamic religious seminary headed by Mr Al Sistani, from where he issued his famous fatwa calling on Iraqis to volunteer to join the armed forces against ISIS.
Mr Al Sistani, too, spearheaded efforts to house thousands of displaced Iraqi Christians who had been driven out of their homes, with his vast humanitarian network providing aid and shelter for hundreds of thousands of orphans and bereaved families.
Indeed, it may surprise many to learn that the common ground between the Pope and the Ayatollah encompasses not just their social and humanitarian outreach, but their shared religious values. Mr Al Sistani’s desire to protect Christians against ISIS terrorists harks back to the core teachings of the Islamic faith, which sees protecting the freedom of religious practice as central to its mission.
In one authoritative tradition of the Prophet Mohammed, he said: “No bishop is to be removed from his diocese, nor any monk from his monastery … No house belonging to churches or synagogues is to be demolished. No money belonging to the Church is to be used in building a mosque.”
Having worked for years with grassroots communities attempting to strengthen interfaith relations, it is heartening to know that Pope Francis’s effort to heal the pain and loss of Iraqi Christians extends to the indigenous Yazidi and Shiite communities who faced extermination from ISIS militants.
His historic visit demonstrates that no matter how hard the extremists may try to tear communities apart, by holding fast to our shared values, by insisting on working together on our common challenges – we will stand resilient and united.
This is a message that our diverse communities here in Britain will welcome and from which we will learn. Because if Iraq, plagued by decades of war and violence, can preserve and strengthen its rich heritage of diversity, then so can we.
Mustafa Field MBE is Director of Faiths Forum for London, an interfaith charity which brings together leaders from across nine different faiths to work collaboratively.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES
Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
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HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Movie: Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster 3
Producer: JAR Films
Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahie Gill, Chitrangda Singh, Kabir Bedi
Rating: 3 star
