Pope Francis' visit is a commemoration of multiculturalism for the UAE

For a global citizen like me, the Pope is more than a religious figure. He looms large on the multi-cultural canvas that is India, my home, and now the UAE, my home away from home. A non-Christian, I was born in a church-run Mission Hospital. I was 'reborn', after a fire accident, in St. John's Hospital, where many nurses were nuns. I studied in Bishop Cotton's Boys' High School and Madras Christian College.

I attended youth fellowships in my community church, indulged in carol singing in the lead up to Christmas, collected donations for Mother Theresa's work for leprosy patients, lit candles many Thursdays at Infant Jesus Church, was spiritually enhanced in 1999 by Pope John Paul II's visit to New Delhi, and even visited the Vatican City not too long ago.

Along with social calls at church weddings, Yuletide carnivals at malls and feasts before, on, and after Christmas, this cultural tryst has grown and endured in the UAE. Home to about 200 nationalities, the UAE exemplifies multiculturalism. As a tagline on Sheikh Zayed Road once proclaimed: "The UAE is not just the centre of the Arab world, but the Arab centre of the world."

Since the old adage 'home is where the heart is' can now be changed to 'home is where the job is', the UAE has given me a chance to spread my wings and soar to heights unimaginable during my student life. Its inclusiveness has allowed me to blossom as a person, professional and parent.

One of the biggest benefits of living in the UAE has been my improved understanding of religion and cultural tolerance. Though I never wore my religion on my sleeve, life in the UAE has made me more 'secular', which is spiritually comforting.

As part of my official job, I often wear an Emirati 'thinking' cap, over my Indian heart and mind. My wife jokes that it is a sign of schizophrenia! Born in the UAE and growing up in this milieu, our 15-year-old son is one step ahead of me. When he was a toddler, we would point to mosques and tell him they were places of worship. We would ask him to fold his hands in prayer every time the azaan was heard. This became such an integral part of his conscience that when he heard the azaan even when half asleep, he would involuntarily fold his hands in prayer.

Today, while growing up reading and connecting Hindu, Greek and Roman mythological stories, our son knows a few verses from the Holy Quran; is keen to fast during the holy month of Ramadan because his friends adhere to it; and says "we must respect all religions". He is learning Arabic, recites poems and sings the UAE national anthem just as well as the Indian national anthem, accompanied by music on the keyboard.

In case you are wondering how all this is relevant, it is worth linking it to the liberal and tolerant environment that the UAE has nurtured to ensure that expatriates feel at home.
As another Hindu temple takes shape in the UAE, it is only befitting that 2019, the 'Year of Tolerance', kicks off with Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church, and Dr. Ahmad Al Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, visiting the UAE.

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio - who took the name Francis - symbolises tolerance. He is famous for his austere lifestyle and humility, which is viewed as an 'antithesis of Vatican splendour'. In his earlier capacity, he took a bus to work, cooked his own meals and visited the slums often. He emphasised that social outreach, rather than doctrinal battles, was the main purpose of religion.

These traits have led him to be dubbed as the 'people's pope', 'liberation theologist' and even as the 'political pope' for criticising neoliberalism and the policies of the International Monetary Fund, among others.

It was moving in 2016 to see him wash the feet of Muslim, Hindu and Christian migrants from Mali, Eritrea, Syria and Pakistan. That he did so amid a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe was a message of humaneness.

His message at that time was: "You, we, all of us together, of different religions, different cultures, but children of the same God.let us all make a gesture of brotherhood and let us all say: 'We are different, we are different, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace'."

Such a message is sustained in the UAE through legislation that penalises discrimination based on religion, gender or creed. Further, community programmes - Special Olympics, Zayed-Gandhi Museum, UAE-China Week, Emirati-French Cultural Dialogue, and Champions of Tolerance events in educational institutions, among others - embody broadmindedness.

As 135,000 people from all faiths and backgrounds prepare to attend the Pope's address, it is indeed a cultural commemoration that must be rejoiced. As the world attempts to reimpose borders after a few unsuccessful years of globalisation, the UAE's decision to create a Ministry of Tolerance epitomises Mahatma Gandhi's belief that "A culture cannot survive if it attempts to be exclusive".

While creating the new ministry in 2016, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, stated: "We have learned from events in our region.[that] we need to study, teach and practice tolerance - and to instil it in our children, both through education and our own example.We have learned from hundreds of thousands of dead and millions of refugees in our region that sectarian, ideological, cultural and religious bigotry only fuel the fires of rage."

It is this understanding that has driven the UAE to become a prominent model of tolerance. It has defied Samuel Huntington's 'clash of civilisations' hypothesis and promoted dialogue among civilisations and the fight against radicalism.

As the 82-year-young Pope becomes the first pontiff to visit the Gulf, it is certain to help the UAE make a 'hard' statement about its global status as a soft power and enrich its religio-cultural diversity.

Dr. N. Janardhan is a UAE-based analyst.

The Global Village in Dubai brings together people from different parts of the world.