On Sunday the UAE welcomed Pope Francis and the Grand Azhar Imam for a 3-day visit at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to discuss Human Fraternity. The visit is said to be historic, for this is the first time a pontiff to ever visit the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.

The government of the UAE has previously shown great effort on its mission to promote tolerance by appointing a minister for Tolerance, passing anti-discrimination laws, introducing the National Tolerance programme and going as far as declaring 2019 as the year for tolerance.

The meeting is also one of great significance given the importance of the Pope and Imam’s status and influence on Islam and Christianity. The General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Elders, Dr. Sultan Al Remeithi stated “This may not be the first time that the Grand Imam and the Pope have met but it is by far their most important meeting for two reasons. The first is that it is taking place during the first ever Papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula and, secondly, it is happening during the UAE’s Year of Tolerance”.

However, the Pope’s visit to the UAE sparked a wave of criticism with people claiming that the Pope’s visit Is unjustifiable given the unfortunate events going on in Yemen. The backlash completely disregarded the visit’s message, and that is to further reinforce much-needed tolerance and coexistence between religions. “It is a visit that carries great humanitarian value, and the UAE adds a new (chapter) in the history of fraternity and tolerance,” tweeted UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash.

Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the US, said: “Not everyone will welcome or embrace the message. Across the Middle East, we face the menace of extremism … Ignoring the threat or being complacent is too dangerous and will only feed the cycle of sectarian violence that has gripped the region for more than a generation.”

The pope said that he was following the situation in Yemen “with great concern” amid human rights campaigners’ remarks.