by Christopher Sharma

Dozens of Muslims gather in a Kathmandu mosque to express solidarity with Francis. One of the participants says, "We encourage Islamic leaders in Nepal to make their voices heard and join the pope's appeal. We pray for the Holy Father during his trip to Korea."

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Dozens of young Muslims in Nepal gathered today at a mosque in Kathmandu to join Pope Francis and his prayers against violence in Iraq and Gaza.

During yesterday's Angelus, the pope slammed "all kinds of violence" that are taking place in the Middle East that "gravely offend God and humanity." Many young Muslims in Nepal have responded by expressing their solidarity with the pope.

"As a Muslim, I am grateful to Pope Francis for his prayers," Yakir Khan, 30, told AsiaNews. "All of us are with him; he does a great job. He is Catholic but does not hesitate to go beyond [his] faith to pray for peace, even in the Islamic world. "

"Islam has many religious leaders, but they are now divided," said Abdul Falahi, who attended today's gathering. "However, they have not been able to issue a strong appeal for peace. The pope instead defends peace and solidarity. We are happy to pray together with him."

"We encourage Islamic leaders in Nepal to make their voices heard and join the pope's appeal," added another young man, Alsaf Khan. "We pray for the Holy Father during his trip to Korea."

• nepal
• young
• muslims
• prayer
• pope
• francis
• peace
• iraq
• gaza