{"id":11984,"date":"2018-12-09T06:27:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-09T06:27:52","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2018-12-09T06:27:52","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T06:27:52","slug":"opinion-uae-religious-tolerance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovin.co\/dubai\/en\/feature\/opinion-uae-religious-tolerance\/","title":{"rendered":"OPINION: The Pope’s Visit Proves The UAE Is Built On Religious Tolerance"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last week, it was announced Pope Francis would visit the UAE for the first time<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both HH Sheikh Mohammed<\/a> bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nayhan<\/a> shared the news via Twitter. The UAE will welcome the head of the Catholic Church from February 3-5.<\/p>\n The landmark three-day visit signifies a strong friendship between Christians and Muslims, with both tweets from UAE leaders highlighting the important of peace between the two.<\/p>\n We welcome the news of Pope Francis’ visit to the United Arab Emirates next February – a visit that will strengthen our ties and understanding of each other, enhance interfaith dialogue and help us to work together to maintain and build peace among the nations of the world.<\/p>\n \u2014 HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) December 6, 2018<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Islam is the official religion of the UAE, but the country has operated an open religion policy.<\/p>\n Approximately 75-80% of the population is Muslim, while the rest is a mix of religions. Christians have a large presence, as do Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs.<\/p>\n The UAE is delighted to welcome His Holiness Pope Francis on the upcoming visit to the UAE. He is a symbol of peace, tolerance and the promotion of brotherhood. We look forward to a historic visit, through which we will seek dialogue on the peaceful coexistence among peoples. pic.twitter.com\/xdsmU18HpO<\/a><\/p>\n‘Work together to maintain and build peace’<\/h4>\n
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Almost ten million people live in the UAE, with 200 + nationalities, and Catholics making up nearly 10% of the population<\/h3>\n
‘We will seek dialogue on the peaceful coexistence among peoples’<\/h4>\n
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