First, it was the Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi, of Qom, Iran, who sent Pope Francis a letter in which he thanked him for making a distinction between peaceful Muslims and Islamic radicals. The Grand Ayatollah said that most Muslims consider these groups separate sects that do not follow the true teachings of Islam.
Then it was King Mohamed VI of Morocco who, in a speech addressed to Moroccans living abroad, spoke harshly about Islamic terrorism. He said that those who kill innocent people 'are not Muslims.â?
Next, the Grand Mufti of Croatia, Aziz Hasanovic, also spoke on Monday about the challenges that Islam faces. In a conference in Rimini, Italy, he said that many are using religion for personal gain.
AZIZ HASANOVIC
Grand Mufti of Croatia
'We as Muslims believe that using Islam for personal gain is an abuse of our religion. However, those that do that are a minority: there are more than a 1.5 thousand million Muslims in the world.â?
Pope Francis has met several Muslim leaders throughout his pontificate, and visited some mosques around the world. In the Bangui mosque, in the Central African Republic, he called for Islam and Christianity to stand united against fundamentalism:
POPE FRANCIS
'Together, we say no to hatred, no to revenge, no to violence.â?
Pope Francis believes that if Muslim leaders speak up and firmly condemn fundamentalist groups, the world will see that Islam is not a violent religion.
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