India Religious leaders welcome Pope's peace initiative in Middle East

(May 16, 2009) 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. Rabbi Ezekiel Issac Malekar, a Jewish priest 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 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. Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism based in the United States, has welcomed the Pope's call for inter-religious dialogue.