Grand Imam Of Al Azhar Mosque Inspired Pope Francis To Strive For Brotherhood – OpEd
By Raji Krishna
The Pope took cues also from the Buddhist Dhammapada, biblical parables, the life of St.Francis of Assisi
In his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti of October 2020, Pope Francis had proposed fraternity and social friendship as the ways to build a better, more just and peaceful world, with the commitment of all peoples and institutions.
According to Rev. Prof. David Hollenbach of the Berkley Centre for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, in the beginning of the Encyclical itself, the Pope declared that his conviction about the high importance of these noble themes was encouraged by his interaction with the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.
The Pope reiterated this four more times in the Encyclical, Prof. Hollenbach points out.
“No Pope has ever before stated that a very important papal teaching has been directly influenced by a religious leader who is not a Christian. Francis’ reference to the influence of the Grand Imam may bring significant advance in Christian-Muslim relations in the long term.”
“Indeed, the Encyclical’s conclusion is a rhetorically powerful series of quotations from the “Document on Human Fraternity” issued jointly by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Al-Tayyeb when they met in Abu Dhabi in February 2019, Prof. Hollenbach says.
Drawing on this joint statement, Francis proclaimed that efforts to overcome the world’s conflicts should follow the path dialogue, adopt a code of mutual cooperation, and follow a method of reciprocal understanding.
The Encyclical said, “If the world’s religious communities were to follow this path, they would be living in fidelity to their own deep beliefs and simultaneously contributing to the peace and justice the world urgently needs.”
In response to the Pole, the Grand Imam had said that the marginalized were paying the price for unstable positions and decisions. Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Salem, an advisor to the Grand Imam, said; “The friendship between El Baba [Arabic for “the Pope”] and the Grand Imam is something exceptional, something that has not happened in modern history. It’s a chance to get their two religions closer, to bring the followers of their religions closer.”
Extension of the dictum Love Your Neighbour
Drawing on Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, the Pope insisted that the commandment to “love our neighbour as ourselves” meant not only loving those who are close to us in our family, ethnic group, or nation, it also meant loving strangers, especially when they are suffering.
Just as the Samaritan reached across the religious and ethnic boundaries that separated him from a Jew wounded by the roadside, Christians and indeed all people were called to become neighbours to those who had been harmed.
Francis saw Jesus’ parable of the God Samaritan as challenging people to “expand their frontiers” and to put love into action across both religious and national barriers.
The Pope also recalled St. Francis of Assisi’s plea for solidarity and friendship across the religious borders between Christians and Muslims.
At the start of the Encyclical, the Pope mentioned how St. Francis of Assisi, during a visit to Egypt in the midst of the Fifth Crusade, met with the Muslim Sultan, Malik al-Kamil. Francis initially wanted to convert the Sultan to Christianity, but he realised that Christian love called him put aside all differences. He discovered that fidelity to his identity as a follower of Christ called him “to be subject to every human creature for God’s sake,” including to “Saracens and unbelievers”.
Present-Day Conflicts
Prof Hollenbach points out that Pope Francis drew upon these reflections on the possibility of Christian-Muslim solidarity to address a wide range of the conflicts and injustices that mar the globe today.
These conflicts included the rising nationalism that risks bringing war in its wake, the increasing economic inequality that victimizes the poorest, the forcible displacement of almost 80 million people by war and other crises, the environmental threats brought by global warming, and the inadequate national and global responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pope Francis also urged reforms in global governance, particularly within the United Nations, to promote peace and human rights rather than economic dominance. Dialogue and encounter emerged as central principles of the encyclical, urging humanity to learn from historical atrocities to prevent future injustices.
Cry Against Wars, Pain Over Gaza
As he did nearly every time he spoke in public, Pope Francis rejected war, asserting that modern warfare could never be justified, advocating for disarmament and the redirection of military spending toward alleviating global hunger. Similarly, he called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, reaffirming the inviolability of human life.
In his Urbi Et Orbi blessing from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square on April 20, 2025, in Vatican City, Pope Francis said of the terrible tragedy at Gaza; “I appeal to the warring parties: call a cease-fire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!”
This was his very last and the most telling appeal to the warring world.
Call for Christian-Buddhist Joint Action
Pope Francis reached out to Buddhists too.
“At a time in which our human family and planet are facing manifold threats, the need for interreligious dialogue and collaboration are increasingly necessary,” Pope Francis said when he invited Buddhists to continue to work together with the Catholic Church.
Together they could “cultivate compassion and hospitality for all human beings, especially the poor and marginalized.”
The Pope was addressing a delegation from Thailand composed of 33 prominent Buddhist monks of both the Theravada and the Mahayana schools, together with 60 lay Buddhists and several representatives of the Thai Catholic Church in Rome in June 2022.
They were participating in a conference on “Friendship between Buddhists and Christians for a Culture of Encounter” at the Pontifical Urban University in June, Vatican News said.
Pope Francis reiterated the sentiments expressed by Pope Paul VI (1963-1978) when he met the Thai Buddhist delegation decades earlier.
Pope Paul VI had said, “We have a profound regard for the spiritual, moral, and socio-cultural treasures that have been bestowed on you through your precious traditions.”
“We recognize the values of which you are the custodians, and we share the desire that they should be preserved and fostered. We hope there will be increasing friendly dialogue and close collaboration between the traditions that you represent and the Catholic Church.”
Pope Francis noted that over decades, there had been a gradual and steady growth of “friendly dialogue and close collaboration” between Catholicism and Buddhism. He had visited Thailand in 2019 and met the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand.
The Buddha and Jesus understood the need for fraternity, Pope Francis had said.
“Dialogue and collaboration are even more urgent and precious at a time when the human family and the planet face manifold threats. Sadly, on all sides we hear the cry of a wounded humanity and a broken earth. The Buddha and Jesus understood the need to overcome the egoism that gives rise to conflict and violence,” he added.
“The Dhammapada” Pope Francis recalled, “sums up the Buddha’s teachings thus: ‘To avoid evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind – this is the teaching of the Buddha’ (Dph 183). And Jesus told his disciples: ‘I give you a new Commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another'” (Jn 13:34).”
Pope Francis told his Buddhist guests that their common task was “to guide our respective followers to a more vivid sense of the truth that we are all brothers and sisters. We should work together to cultivate compassion and hospitality for all human beings, especially the poor and marginalized.”
In conclusion, Pope Francis said; “I encourage your efforts to deepen and broaden your dialogue and cooperation with the Catholic Church.”
Indeed, the good relations existing between Catholics and Buddhists in Buddhist majority countries like Sri Lanka and Thailand are testimony to the acceptance of Pope Francis’ exhortation.
