The Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam - alongside the President of Senegal's National Assembly His Excellency Moustapha Niasse - met with Archbishop of Dakar Monsignor Benjamin Ndiaye in the Senegalese capital of Dakar. The meeting discussed potential initiatives to promote the values of the historic Document on Human Fraternity.

Judge Abdelsalam praised Senegal for being a beacon of freedom, coexistence, and human fraternity in Africa. He also noted the strong Muslim and Christian relations in Senegal that reflect the country’s core moderate values of calling for dialogue and renouncing violence and terrorism.

The Secretary-General added, “The historic Document on Human Fraternity, which was co-signed by His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb and His Holiness Pope Francis, is an inspiration for all humanity as it helped draw people of different religious backgrounds and cultures closer together. The Council aims to spread the values within the Document on Human Fraternity through various initiatives and by implementing it into school curricula around the world.”

For his part, the Archbishop of Dakar expressed his appreciation of the Muslim Council of Elders and its Chairman His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, for spreading the values of tolerance and peace. Archbishop Ndiaye said he has read about the Document on Human Fraternity and the challenges in publishing this historic covenant, which in turn inspired the third encyclical of Pope Francis titled ‘Fratelli Tutti.’ He also expressed his pleasure at meeting Judge Abdelsalam and his hopes to spread the values of human fraternity in Senegal and Africa.