Pope Francis died on Easter April 21st, 2025 in the Vatican. His death stirred emotions among Muslims and Christians alike, particularly for reasons beyond his promotion of interfaith dialogue and understanding.
This reception of the Pope’s death is attested to by the presence of Arab and Muslim leaders in the funerals. A video posted by Al-Hadath TV channel showing Iranian culture minister Abbas Salehi standing behind U.S. President Donald Trump and in front of former President Joe Biden was viewed around half million times.
Moza Bint Nasser, the wife of former Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and mother of current Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamed Al Thani, publicly mourned the loss of a “great champion of just causes,” stating that private conversations with the Pope have proven his kindness and his personal endorsement towards the Palestinian cause.
President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmed al-Sharaa, equally condoled the Roman Catholic community for the loss of a leader that has always supported the weak and their struggle for freedom, as well as his recognition and unconditional support for the Syrian struggle towards liberty; showing that the Pope was more than a religious leader, but rather a heralder of peace, justice and humanity.
Webdo, a Tunisian online outlet reported last Friday that “The Catholic Church of Tunisia has announced the organization of a Mass for the eternal repose of Pope Francis. This Mass will take place on Sunday, April 27 at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral of Tunis.”
A massive coverage of the funerals on Saturday was conducted by many Arab media that took special interest in the participation of political figures from many Arab and Muslim countries with special attention paid the events that took place on the sidelines like the meeting Between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy now quieter than the previous tense one in the oval office.
In a news report, Al Jazeera regretted the loss of Pope Francis and paid tribute to his memory. In the report by Aljazeera, Pope Francis is described as “the different Pope.” He took off the veil of religion off fanaticism, the Aljazeera report goes on to justify this label.
Lebanon based AlMyadeen TV channel devoted a special coverage to the funerals, commenting in one of their posts on X, that Pope Francis “opened many gates for innovation, affirming that Christians should live in unity despite diversity and refusing separating them from Muslims.” The post also points to his unprecedented promotion of women leaders in the Catholic Church.
On their website, Almayadeen posted an Arabic-language translation of an English language article originally published on the website Responsible Statecraft which depicts the Pope’s historic 2021 meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq as a testimony of the humility, compassion, and drive to bridge religious and cultural divides that marked his legacy of interfaith diplomacy.
Many social media posts from North African users reiterated the Pope’s outspoken sympathy for migrants. Pictures of Pope Francis washing the feet of migrants and prisoners on Holy Thursday were widely shared. A video of Pope Francis on a video call with Catholics sheltered in the Holy Family Catholic Parish resurfaced and registered hundreds of thousands of views.
If Pope Francis has cultivated a romantic image in the West as a progressive religious leader, he cultivated a more spiritual image in the Arab World as one of the People of the Book for whom God regarded all humans as equals.
But what really drew much admiration for the Catholic Pope from many Arabs and Muslims is his public stance on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire, because in this call, they saw the Pope’s unwavering commitment to serving all humans equally stand the test of geopolitics and global power relations.
Pope Francis will be remembered for his honorable stance in his final plea “for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip” and for the world to “come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”
