Muslim Peace Coalition USA (MPC), a multi-state coalition of Muslim American organisations and activists, has welcomed Pope Francis’s efforts to reach out to the Muslims during the Christian holiday season of Good Friday and Easter. The coalition also supported the Pope’s called for the protection of Christian minorities in the Muslim countries.
Dr. Shaik Ubaid, the cochair of the coalition, pointed to the freeze that had set in the Catholic-Muslim relations after the 2006 speech by Pope Benedict where he called some of the teachings of Prophet Mohammed as “evil and inhuman.” Dr. Ubaid pointed out to the fact that Pope Francis, who was at that time Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, had differed with the Pope’s anti-Islam statement and almost lost his position as a cardinal. MPC hoped that the new Pope’s attitude towards Islam and Muslims will help stem the rising tide of Islamophobia in Europe and America.