From Buenos Aires Herald (Argentina)
Argentine Muslims have welcomed the election of Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the head of the Roman Cathoilic Churhc. In an interview with Buenosairesherald.com, Sheij Mohsen Ali and CIRA Secretary General Dr. Sumer Noufouri praised Pope Francis’s “pro-dialogue” nature.
“He always showed himself as a friend of the Islamic community. He visited the At-Tauhid Mosque (located) in the neighborhood of Floresta and the Arab-Argentine Ali Ibn Abi Talib School strengthening our relations”, the Director of the House for the Diffusion of Islam Sheik Mohsen Ali said and described a personal anecdote with the man that has now become “the Pope of the end of the world.”
“In Suipacha Street, at the headquarters of the Argentine Episcopacy, his humility drew my attention. I went there with Sheij Abdul Karim Paz. There was a small wicker chair and some soft armchairs. He took the little chair for himself and left us the comfortable armchairs,” the Sheij Mohsen Ali recalled now that Catholics around the world learn that their religious leader used to take the subway while being a Cardinal in Buenos Aires.
More sensitive issues, political arguments, also seem to prove the nature of the two times president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference. “By the time of the 2006 Lebanon War, I held an argument with one of his assistants. He received me and understood my position. He acted like a friend, not a personal friend because we did not have the time to deepen our relation, but he has been a friend,” the Muslim leader affirmed.
