Ayoon Wa Azan (Between al-Azhar and the Vatican)

The selection of Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the new Pope of the Catholic Church, has invited a thousand and one comments about the church, which has more than 1.2 billion followers worldwide, and its financial and sexual scandals, and even its future. However, I want to tackle the issue from an Arab perspective. The conservative Argentinian Cardinal will be known as Pope Francis I, and will become the 266th pope in St. Peter’s church. Here, I propose that al-Azhar al-Sharif and its head, Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb, initiate a dialogue with the new pope to foster cooperation against the government of Israel and its racist-colonial policies. I hope I am clear in that I am not calling for a declared or secret alliance, but only cooperation, and not against Jews or even Israel, but against a government of murderous war criminals that has left Israel in dangerous isolation around the world, as AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, said a few days ago in Washington D.C. There is an extensive boycott implemented by Protestant churches, who have called on their followers to divest from Israel and refrain from buying Israeli goods produced in the occupied territories. The Catholic Church is present in the occupied territories, particularly in Jerusalem, and is fully aware of what Israel perpetrates every day against the Palestinians, and the Union of Christian Denominations records Israel’s violations there regularly. The new pope reminded me of the only pope I had met and spoken with, Pope John Paul II. The opportunity to meet him came when the late Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi defense minister at the time, made an official visit to Italy in the 1990s, which included a meeting with the pope at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. Prince Sultan was accompanied by a large delegation, and was joined by a large number of Arab visitors as well. However, the visit to the pope’s summer residence was restricted to Prince Sultan, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, the Saudi ambassador to Italy in those days, and the ambassador in London now, in addition to two escorts and me. I wrote at the time about how Prince Sultan took advantage of the meeting to urge the pope to seek to protect Jerusalem from Israeli assaults on the properties of Arabs and Muslims in the city. The pope was wizened and weak, but his mind was still sharp. He spoke positively without making promises that could not be delivered, and said that he prayed for the health of King Fahd and the wellbeing of the Saudi people. On the way back to Rome, I told Prince Sultan that his conversation with the pope reminded me of the Umari Covenant – when Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, at the request of Patriarch Sophronius, expelled Jews from the holy city, while giving them the chance to sell what they owned or take it with them to Byzantine-controlled territories. Caliph Umar left the city for the Christians, and handed the key to the Church of the Resurrection to one of the Prophet’s Companions who was with him, after he found out that the Christian sects were in disagreement over their respective shares of the church. To this day, the key is in the hands of that companion’s descendants, currently with the Nusseibeh family. The Umari Covenant is an example to be followed, not for an alliance against the Jews as a people, but for cooperation aimed at thwarting the plans of the racist-fascist government of Israel in assaulting Christian and Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, and in expelling people and stealing their homes. The fact of the matter is that the basis of this cooperation exists in Jerusalem today. Indeed, Muslims and Christians in the city are one hand against the occupation, as I wrote a few weeks ago. I believe that cooperation between al-Azhar al-Sharif and the Vatican would fulfill the desires of Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, and Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb, with his knowledge and moderation, is the most qualified person among Muslims to undertake this task. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.