Papal visit reminds expat of Zayed encounter

The path laid down for all religions in UAE is that of behaving well towards others, he said.

Pope Francis' three-day visit to the UAE brings back an expat's memories of how the country's leaders have always embraced diversity and welcomed people of all religions.
Prominent Indian businessman Mohan Jashanmal could clearly remember what the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan had told him. "Jashanmal, you can be a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim or a follower of any other faith. We believe in this country that the path laid down for all these religions is that of behaving well towards others."
Jashanmal arrived in the country with his wife in 1964. He recalled that when the first Catholic church in the Emirates  - St Joseph's Church in Abu Dhabi - was consecrated in 1965, the ruler Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan even sat in the front row of the congregation.
"From the time of the pearl industry, which goes back hundreds of years, Muslims and Hindus and other communities lived here together.
"All practised and followed their own religious paths with harmony and understanding. The UAE practised tolerance in the past. It practises it today, and I am sure it will continue into the future," Jashanmal said.