Abu Dhabi: The Coptic Orthodox Cathedral Church in Abu Dhabi has appreciated the UAE’s compassion and tolerance under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
It appreciated the fact that Christian communities are allowed to build their churches and practice their rituals freely.
The Coptic Orthodox Church underscored that religious tolerance set by the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan “made 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 wished Shaikh Khalifa and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Their Highnesses Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the emirates, and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Ramadan.
The remarks were made during an iftar banquet hosted by the cathedral here on Saturday. Present were Mohammad Ahmad Al Bawardi, Member of the Executive Council, Ali Al Hashimi, Religious and Judicial Affairs Advisor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, Egyptian Ambassador to 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 Islamic 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.
For 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.
