Pope visits largest Muslim nation: Signing end of days Esau-Ishmael alliance against Israel
Pope Francis embarked on a 12-day tour of four nations in Southeast Asia and Oceania, beginning his tour with a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, home to the largest Muslim population in the world. In Jakarta, the pope met with Indonesia’s grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar, at the entrance to the “Tunnel of Friendship” which connects Istiqlal Mosque to the nearby Catholic Cathedral, Our Lady of the Assumption. Present were representatives of the six religions that are officially recognized in Indonesia: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism.
The Catholic Pope and the Muslim Imam pledged to work together to fight religiously inspired violence and protect the planet. They issued a joint call for interfaith friendship and common cause at the heart of Francis’ visit to Indonesia. Pope Francis received a kiss on the head from the Imam while kissing his hand in response.
The Indonesian government claims the tunnel is a tangible sign of its commitment to religious freedom, which is enshrined in the constitution. Nonetheless, Indonesian society has been challenged by repeated instances of discrimination and violence against religious minorities. Catholics make up around 3% of Indonesia’s population, whereas 87% of the population is Muslim.
In 2021, two Muslim terrorist suicide bombers attacked Sacred Heart Cathedral in Makassar on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, wounding 20 people.
The pope commented that the tunnel symbolized that different religious traditions “have a role to play in helping everyone pass through the tunnels of life with our eyes turned towards the light.”
He encouraged Indonesians of every religious tradition to “walk in search of God and contribute to building open societies, founded on reciprocal respect and mutual love, capable of protecting against rigidity, fundamentalism, and extremism, which are always dangerous and never justifiable.”
“I encourage you to continue along this path so that all of us, all of us together, each cultivating his or her own spirituality and practicing his or her religion, may walk in search of God and contribute to building open societies …”
Pope Francis expanded his agenda of solidifying a relationship between the Catholic Church and Islam by initiating The Istiqlal Declaration signed by Francis and Umar at a formal ceremony in the tent on the Istiqlal Mosque compound. The other religious representatives at the encounter didn’t co-sign it but were listed by organizers as having “accompanied” it.
During a 2019 visit to the Gulf, Francis and the imam of Al-Azhar, the 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni learning, launched a “Human Fraternity” movement calling for greater Christian-Muslim efforts to promote peace worldwide. More recently, Francis traveled to Najaf, Iraq, in 2021 to visit the top Shiite cleric, who delivered a message of peaceful coexistence.
Since ascending to the papacy in 2013, Pope Francis has worked openly to unite Esau and Ishmael by enhancing Christian-Muslim relations. This alliance implicitly threatens Israel, the spiritual descendant of their mutual Biblical nemesis. In 2019, Francis and Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, signed a statement about Jerusalem, referring to Israel’s capital as Al-Quds Acharif, the Arabic name for Jerusalem, minimizing the distinctive relationship between Jerusalem and the Jewish people. The agreement called for Jerusalem to become “the common patrimony of humanity and especially for the followers of the three monotheistic religions, as a place of encounter and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence, where mutual respect and dialogue can be cultivated.”
When Pope Francis visits #Indonesia next week, he’ll stop by the iconic Istiqlal mosque in #Jakarta that has an unusual feature – a 28.3m “Tunnel of Friendship” connecting it to the city’s Catholic cathedral across the road!
#WonderfulIndonesia #WonderfulJourney pic.twitter.com/4hXw1iCWOq
— Wonderful Indonesia (@wonderfulid) September 1, 2024
According to Rabbi Yechiel Weitzman author of The Ishmaelite Exile, this alliance of Christians and Muslims was predicted hundreds of years ago and is a sign of the End Times. According to Rabbi Weitzman, “The last stage in the process of Israel’s perfection will be characterized by the alliance between Ishmael and Esav (Esau), an alliance aimed at tormenting the entire world and the Jewish people in particular.”
The ancient Biblical connection between Esau and Ishmael is stated plainly in Genesis. Ishamael became Esau’s father-in-law when Esau married Ishmael’s daughter.
Rabbi Weitzman concluded, “At the very outset of history, Ishmael and Esav forged a bond through marriage. And so it shall be at the End of Days. The alliance between them will bring history to its culmination in the redemption.”
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