Coptic Church hails UAE’s tolerance

The Coptic Orthodox Cathedral Church in Abu Dhabi has appreciated the UAE’s compassion and tolerance under the wise leadership of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It cited the country has allowed the Christian communities to build their churches to exercise their religious rituals freely similar to Muslims. The Coptic Orthodox Church underscored that the religious tolerance set by the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan “made the UAE the forefront of love, and sponsor of global peace and security in a time when the world is boiling in waves of intolerance, lawlessness and sectarian tension”. Ishaq Al Anba Bishoy, Pastor of Al Anba Antonio Orthodox Coptic Cathedral Church in Abu Dhabi, congratulated Shaikh Khalifa; His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of Emirates; and General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on the Holy Month of Ramadan. The remarks were made during an Iftar banquet hosted by the cathedral here on Saturday. Present were Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi, Member of the Executive Council; Ali Al Hashimi, Religious and Judicial Affairs Advisor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs; Egyptian Ambassador to the UAE Tamer Mansour; representatives from the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments, clerics and other dignitaries. Al Hashimi described the banquet hosted by the cathedral as “the banquet of love and tolerance as Islam and Christianity embrace each other”, indicating that these are the principles, which had been laid by the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and sustained by the current UAE leadership under Shaikh Khalifa. On his part, the Egyptian envoy lauded the position attained by the UAE at both Arab and international levels because of its wise and transparent policies and relations with all countries, citing special strong historic relations between the UAE and Egypt.