Articles
Posted on Fri 8 February 2019
Letter to the Telegraph regarding the visit of the Pope to the UAE
Sir Con Coughlin is right, of course, that the repression of the Iranian people should not be allowed to last another 40 years (6 February). He compares Iran with other states in the region which he claims show more tolerance, citing the Pope’s recent visit to the UAE as an example.
The Pope’s visit to the UAE, however, was not about tolerance for‘ Western religion and culture’. It was undertaken to support the hundreds of thousands of Eastern and Latin rite Catholics, and other Christians, mainly from Asia and Africa,, who live and work there in often very restricted circumstances.
The Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity and yet it is under severe pressure there, and not only in Iran.What is needed now is not just tolerance but a strong reaffirmation of religious freedom there in accordance with Article 18 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights.
+Michael Nazir-Ali
Fist Published in the Daily Telegraph on Friday 8th February 2019