Muslims hail new pope's meeting with Islamic leaders

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

April 25, 2005, 11:45 AM EDT

NEWARK, N.J. -- Muslims in the U.S. hailed Pope Benedict XVI's meeting with Islamic leaders at the Vatican on Monday, saying they are increasingly confident the new pontiff wants better ties between the world's two largest religions.

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, chosen last week to succeed Pope John Paul II, met with Islamic leaders who had attended his installation Mass the day before, promising to work toward building "bridges of friendship" between Catholics and Muslims.

"It is encouraging to note that a meeting with Muslims was one of the first official acts of Pope Benedict XVI," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We hope that this initial positive step is a sign that he intends to build on Pope John Paul II's legacy of interfaith dialogue and reconciliation."

The new pontiff said growing dialogue between the religions is a step toward fostering peace.

"It is therefore imperative to engage in authentic and sincere dialogue, built on respect for the dignity of every human person, created as we Christians firmly believe, in the image and likeness of God," said Pope Benedict XVI.

Those words were heartening to Muslims who were carefully watching the new pontiff for signs of how he will approach relations with Islam.

"It's an excellent thing that it happened this early in his reign," added Mohamed El-Filali of Paterson, a board member of the American Muslim Union and a member of a Christian-Muslim interfaith group run by the Archdiocese of Newark. "He's a Vatican insider from the get-go, and the Catholic leadership has realized that Muslims are people they need to communicate with. We're very excited about it."

Osama Siblani, publisher of the Arab-American News in Dearborn, Mich., home to the nation's largest Arab-American population, said Muslims were distressed that Benedict did not mention them during his inaugural homily on Sunday, when he reached out to other Christians and Jews.

"That worried Muslims around the world," he said. "The meeting today gives better hope for an improved relationship."

Yaser El-Menshawy of Flemington, chairman of the Majlis Ash-Shura of New Jersey, the state's council of mosques, said Muslims respect the fact that Benedict doesn't seem intent on papering over differences between the two faiths while searching for common ground.

"There are some people that kind of want to do a group hug," he said. "It doesn't make sense to say we're all the same. It does make sense to say we have a responsibility to respect each other, which is what he's doing."

Chaudhry Sadiq, a spokesman for the South Carolina office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Columbia, said Muslims hope the new pope will continue the efforts of his predecessor to reach out to the Islamic world.

"The previous pope went all-out to try to play a role in bridging the various faiths," he said. "He went to a lot of pain in his life to speak to the oppressed and for justice. It is an indisputable fact that most of the trouble spots right now are in the Muslim world, and the worst suffering is by Muslims."

Aref Assaf of Denville, president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said he hopes Muslim leaders will respond positively to Benedict's overture.

"We welcome his good will and gesture of respect," Assaf said. "Muslims recognize the great symbolic and spiritual role the pope plays in Christianity. We hope that Muslims leaders will quickly respond with both appropriate language and deeds. There are many more core issues that unite Christians and Muslims than divide them."