Pope Francis is set for a historic trip to the UAE, the first ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula, as he seeks to boost the Vatican's outreach to Islam.
The Argentine pontiff's trip to the United Arab Emirates "couldn't have come at a better time", said Bishop Paul Hinder of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia -- which encompasses the UAE, Oman and Yemen.
"With advanced communication tools at everyone's disposal, we are better informed, and this can be put into a broader perspective when we couple it with dialogue," he told AFP.
Pope Francis, who has made strengthening ties between the two largest religions a cornerstone of his papacy, will head to Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
During his three-day visit, the pope will take part in an interfaith conference and meet Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's prestigious seat of learning.
The papal visit is widely seen as a stepping stone to broader interreligious dialogue in the region.
The UAE -- which has made no secret of its focus on soft power -- prides itself on its religious tolerance and cultural diversity.
But it has been criticised by rights groups for its involvement in a bloody Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen and for upholding a 10-year prison term against activist Ahmed Mansoor on December 31 -- two weeks after the UAE declared 2019 the "Year of Tolerance".
Amnesty International on Friday urged the pope to raise the cases of jailed activists and not to allow his visit to be used "to gloss over the appalling human rights record" of the Emirates.
"We are calling on Pope Francis to raise the issue of their (rights activists') incarceration with his hosts," Amnesty said.
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who invited the pope to the UAE, on Thursday described the pontiff as "the man of peace and love".
"We are hopeful that generations to come will prosper in peace and security," he said in a tweet anticipating the meeting between the pontiff and Sheikh Ahmed.
In a video message to the Emirati people on Thursday, Pope Francis said: "I am happy ... to write on your dear land a new page in the relations between religions, confirming that we are brothers although different."
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