"Together before God, and for humanity" is the term used by Dutch Jesuit Fr. Christian Van Niaspan who spent long years in Egypt, in its churches and in its mosques. He maintained friendship with Al-Azhar, which has lofty universal, religious and cultural merits on the one hand, and with the local Coptic Church, which has great contributions to the Egyptian history, on the other. Christian Van Niaspan passed away a few days ago and left behind a great legacy of Arabic books and above this, he left behind a model of goodness that exudes mutual cordiality.
"Together before God and in the service humanity" has been the spirit with which Pope Francis received Al-Azhar Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayeb. This was the very first time that an Al-Azhar Sheikh pays a visit to the Vatican, which is why the visit is important. Furthermore, this visit took place after a state of estrangement which began in 2006. It relatively improved in 2008 but reached a breaking point since 2011 following the bombing incident of al-Qiddissin Church (the Saints Church), and the statement made by Pope Emeritus Benedict who urged the Egyptian state to assume the responsibility of respecting the Christians. This position angered the Sheikh and Al-Azhar institution. Then the advent of the Arab Spring, which was accompanied with bloody events, did not provide a time conducive to restore the status quo ante which represented ties of cordiality.
As for Pope Francis, he addressed several messages touching mainly on restoring cooperation to serve world peace by focusing on renouncing terrorism, on joint care for the poor (which is a basic cause), and on focusing on respect for the environment, which is a common house for humanity.
We can closely construe the messages conveyed through the "Pope's gifts" to Al-Azhar Sheikh. The first gift is a medallion of peace, which depicts an olive tree that is born from the rock. The second gift is an Arabic-language copy of his Encyclical Letter "Laudato si", which is an invitation to focus on "the dialogue of life'' and on the issues that concern humanity rather than the doctrinal dialogue that leads to nowhere.
The issues discussed, during the meeting, covered reinvigorating the momentum of cordiality between the Catholic Church and the Islamic world, as well as committing the civil and the religious authorities to peace, to renouncing violence and terrorism, to considering the situation of Christians, and to protecting them in the East in view of the prevailing conflagration in the region.
What are we to expect in the aftermath of the visit?
Undoubtedly, the meeting itself is a message. The international media has greatly highlighted the event due to the fact that the influence of the Vatican Pontiff in the world on the one hand and the influence the Sheikh has in Egypt and the world on the other are very important with regards to their spiritual, moral and ethical aspects among millions of the followers of Christianity and Islam.
Do we expect a reciprocation of the visit? In other words, do we expect to have the Pontiff visit Egypt in order to meet its president and the heads of religions, as well as visit the grand imam? It could be so particularly in the wake of the invitation the Sheikh addressed to the Pope when he said: "Come to Al-Azhar, you are welcome." Yet, it is hoped that a new era of constructive dialogue sets in aimed at showing the right image of religion so as to have this image incorporated into the school curricula. The next generations have the right to see senior officials in a state of harmony, working together to build a world free from exclusion, estrangement and freezing of relations by a world dominated by meetings, a culture of cooperation, and joint action for human dignity.
Furthermore, Pope Francis derives his name from St. Francis, who lived in the Middle Ages and made a historic visit to Egypt in 1219 during which he met with the Sultan of Egypt, Malik-al-Kamil, the nephew of Saladin. The dialogue that took place between them is being taught in universities. In the 21st centuy talk is rampant about an upcoming visit by Pope Francis to Egypt. This visit will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the atmosphere of relations between Muslims and Christians for generations to come.
A thousand salutations to all those who seek unity and renounce discord…
