Religious leaders hail pope in Holy Land

Hindu, Muslim and Jewish people in India have welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Middle East as a sign of hope, not only for the troubled region, but also for relations between religions. The Pope's involvement can help solve the dispute between Israel and Palestinians and restore peace in the region, says Akhtarul Wasui, head of the Department of Islamic Studies at New Delhi's Jamia Milia Islamia University. He urged the Pope to take "a pro-active role" to start dialogue between Israel and Palestinians.

On May 15, Pope Benedict XVI concluded an eight-day visit to the Holy Land, where he met many Muslim and Jewish scholars and leaders.

Wasui said the Pope's visit provides hope since he showed "anguish and anxiety" over the fate of the Palestinian people. Such gestures could go "a long way" to solving the problems in the Middle East and the world should take note of the Pontiff's concern, he added.

Rabbi Ezekiel Issac Malekar, a Jewish rabbi in New Delhi, says Jews in India are happy the Pope visited the national Holocaust memorial in Israel and paid tribute to the Jews buried there. Only time will tell if the Pope's visit will help bring about peace between Israel and Palestinians, he says. "Everyone wants peace and it should come from open dialogue between" the two nations, he added.

Asghar Ali Engineer, director of the Mumbai-based Institute of Islamic Studies, says the Pope as the leader of 1 billion Catholics has enough charismatic power to influence political leaders to some extent. The Pope "can surely bring about reconciliation, but the moot question is: Will Israel listen to him?" the Muslim leader said.

Engineer, who is also the chairperson of the Centre for the Study of Society and Secularism, expressed surprise at the Pope's comments on the "two-nation solution" that he feels implies the division of the territory and communities. This contrasted with the stand of former Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat who wanted a state where Arabs, Jews, Muslims and Christians could live together in one state as one nation.

Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism based in the United States, has welcomed the Pope's call for inter-religious dialogue. In a statement, Zed called on the Pope to take the initiative by inviting leaders of major world religions and denominations to the Vatican for a dialogue to forge peace.

The statement said that the meeting should "come up with a concrete plan over common religious concerns" that can help "vanquish the stereotypes, prejudices and caricatures attained from previous generations."