Pope urges peace while visiting mosque

Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his visit to the Central Mosque in a Moslem enclave in the Central African Republic on Monday.
Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his visit to the Central Mosque in a Moslem enclave in the Central African Republic on Monday.

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) - Pope Francis made a historic visit to the last remaining Muslim neighborhood in Central African Republic's capital on Monday, a move that almost immediately opened up a part of the divided city that had been closed off for months because of retaliatory violence between Muslim and Christian militia fighters.

Moments after he left, hundreds of Muslims who had essentially been barricaded inside by the armed Christian militias that stood guard around the perimeter burst into what had been a no-man's land only a day earlier. Some jubilant residents emboldened by the high security in the area even followed the pope into the city's center shouting "the war is over," a hopeful sign that this religiously divided capital could potentially reunite.

The visit was a bold move by the pope, who traveled into the most volatile part of Bangui in his open-air vehicle, underscoring the message of his visit here - faith over fear. He was not without heavy security though, including armed peacekeepers standing guard in the central mosque's minarets high above the crowds.

Francis had insisted on coming to the PK5 neighborhood to appeal for peace in a country where two years of Christian-Muslim violence has forced nearly 1 million people to flee their homes, including thousands who have been living in a camp at the airport amid the wreckage of retired planes. The once vibrant markets of PK5 have now been largely shuttered and many of the Muslim-owned businesses stand in ruins.

About 200 men seated inside the Central Mosque welcomed Francis, who sat on a sofa. In comments to the chief imam, Francis insisted that Muslims and Christians are brothers and must behave as such.

"Christians and Muslims and members of traditional religions have lived peacefully for many years," he said. "Together, we say no to hatred, to vengeance and violence, especially that committed in the name of a religion or God."

The chief imam at the mosque, Tidiani Moussa Naibi, thanked Francis for his visit, which he said was "a symbol which we all understand."

And he urged the international community to not write the country off the books as doomed to a cycle of violence, saying the current conflict was a moment in time - "a painful moment, a regretable moment, but just a moment."

Pope Francis removed his shoes, bowed his head and stood silently at the mihrab, or area of the mosque that faces the holy Muslim city of Mecca.

The pope's visit to the mosque marked the highlight of his three-nation African tour, with previous stops in Kenya and Uganda.