I.M.A.M. in Georgetown University Webinar | Pope Francis, Grand Imam Al-Tayyeb, and Ayatollah Al-Sistani: What Do Their Relationships Mean for Us?

September 28, 2021

In early 2021, Pope Francis held a historic meeting with his Eminence Sayyid al-Sistani during his first-ever visit to Iraq. The two highly revered religious leaders met to inspire amity between the Muslim and Christian global communities. The meeting also sought to address the challenges being faced by humankind, as well as the importance of faith in God, His messages and “the high moral values needed to live up to them.”

The meeting  took place two years after Pope Francis met with Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, a highly esteemed Sunni religious leader, with whom the Pope co-signed the document on “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.”

A panel of influential religious leaders, including Sayyid M. B. Kashmiri, came together during the online event moderated by Dr. Tamara Sonn, director of the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, to discuss the importance and benefits of these meetings and the relationships forged between these religious leaders. Sayyid M.B. Kashmiri emphasized on the mutual values between Christianity and Islam and how religious scholars from both parties should interact and work shoulder to shoulder in the long-term to maintain their noble values.