Allama Dr Shahid Raza Naeemi OBE meets Pope Francis at the Vatican

Published on: May 14, 2017

Allama Dr Shahid Raza Naeemi OBE, Jurist (Qadhi) and Trustee of London Fatwa Council, as part of a delegation of four British Imams accompanied by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, travelled to Rome and held a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on 22 March 2017. As well as the papal audience, the delegation also met Cardinal Tauran at the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.

Pope Francis told the Imams that listening to each other was essential for the common future of humanity as we walk together in our shared lives. The goal of the visit was to engage in inter-religious dialogue with the Muslim community, allowing both religions to not only speak, but be heard by the neighbouring party, both on the part of the Imams, and Pope Francis and Cardinal Nichols.

Maulana Shahid Raza commented,

“This is a historic moment when the two biggest religions in the world, Christians and Muslims, must come together in unity and solidarity for peace. Today we are making history. We bring to you the message of peace and understanding and cooperation.”

Cardinal Nichols stated,

“I hope that this moment will help the voice of authentic Islam to be heard clearly. I think at this time Christian-Muslim dialogue is particularly important and in a strange way, Catholic-Muslim dialogue in Britain is very important, because the history of the Catholic community in Britain is one of being a minority and of having lived with 400 years of anti-Catholic prejudice.”

[Extracted from The British Muslim Forum website ]