For the first time in history, the head of the Catholic Church and the leader of the Shiite Islamic clerical establishment are meeting in Iraq, the very cradle of civilisation.
As a British Muslim Iraqi interfaith leader, who has had the good fortune to meet both these figures during the course of my work, I believe that this unprecedented meeting between Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani comes at a crucial time.
With politics increasingly polarised in the midst of a global pandemic, amid an unprecedented economic downturn stoking extremism from all sides, the coming together of these two leading figures from the Islamic and Christian worlds offers a profound symbol of the inherent unity of these two great faiths.
That this is the first meeting Pope Francis has undertaken since the beginning of the pandemic signals its momentous significance. Before meeting Mr Al Sistani, the Pope will have met Iraq’s top political leaders. But he is visiting many Christian communities: in Baghdad, the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation – the site of the devastating 2010 terrorist attack which killed 58 people; in Erbil, he will hold Holy Mass; and in Mosul, he will offer prayers for the fallen and victims of terrorism.
These visits are a sobering reminder of the carnage from which Iraq emerged, when the terrorist group ISIS rampaged across the country, singling out Christian homes and businesses. The terrorists painted the symbol “n” – Arabic shorthand for Nasrani, or Nazarene – on front doors and shutters, and targeted them ruthlessly.
To Iraqi Christians, the world must have looked bleak with little hope in sight. Now, seven years on with the ISIS reign of terror behind us, the Pope’s tour of the country offers renewed hope to both its Muslim and Christian citizens.
That is why Pope Francis’s meeting with Mr Al Sistani in the Holy City of Najaf represents such a significant step forward – not just for Iraq and its diverse faith communities, but for the entire world.
Najaf is the final resting place of Imam Ali, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, who would regularly refer to the sayings of Jesus when teaching his followers. It is also the home of the 1,000-year-old Islamic religious seminary headed by Mr Al Sistani, from where he issued his famous fatwa calling on Iraqis to volunteer to join the armed forces against ISIS.
Mr Al Sistani, too, spearheaded efforts to house thousands of displaced Iraqi Christians who had been driven out of their homes, with his vast humanitarian network providing aid and shelter for hundreds of thousands of orphans and bereaved families.
Indeed, it may surprise many to learn that the common ground between the Pope and the Ayatollah encompasses not just their social and humanitarian outreach, but their shared religious values. Mr Al Sistani’s desire to protect Christians against ISIS terrorists harks back to the core teachings of the Islamic faith, which sees protecting the freedom of religious practice as central to its mission.
In one authoritative tradition of the Prophet Mohammed, he said: “No bishop is to be removed from his diocese, nor any monk from his monastery … No house belonging to churches or synagogues is to be demolished. No money belonging to the Church is to be used in building a mosque.”
Having worked for years with grassroots communities attempting to strengthen interfaith relations, it is heartening to know that Pope Francis’s effort to heal the pain and loss of Iraqi Christians extends to the indigenous Yazidi and Shiite communities who faced extermination from ISIS militants.
His historic visit demonstrates that no matter how hard the extremists may try to tear communities apart, by holding fast to our shared values, by insisting on working together on our common challenges – we will stand resilient and united.
This is a message that our diverse communities here in Britain will welcome and from which we will learn. Because if Iraq, plagued by decades of war and violence, can preserve and strengthen its rich heritage of diversity, then so can we.
Mustafa Field MBE is Director of Faiths Forum for London, an interfaith charity which brings together leaders from across nine different faiths to work collaboratively.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
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The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
RESULT
Everton 2 Huddersfield Town 0
Everton: Sigurdsson (47'), Calvert-Lewin (73')
Man of the Match: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MADAME%20WEB
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