The Pope says from UAE he rejects war in Libya, Yemen, Syria and Iraq

Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives to lead mass at the Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi (Photo: AFP)

In the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula, Pope Francis has said that faith leaders have a duty to reject war as he called for religious freedom in the majority Muslim region.

“War cannot create anything but misery, weapons bring nothing but death,” the pope said on Monday, addressing an inter-religious meeting attended by hundreds of representatives from different faiths.  Al-Jazeera reported.

“I am thinking in particular of Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya,” he added.

He said: “Every form of violence must be condemned without hesitation… No violence can be justified in the name of religion.”

The gathering included imams, muftis, ministers, rabbis, swamis, Zoroastrians and Sikhs,  Al-Jazeera added.

Francis, who has made outreach to Muslim communities a cornerstone of his papacy, is on an historic three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, according to  Al-Jazeera.

The UAE is involved in the wars in Yemen, Syria and Libya.

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