Cardinal joins prayers for peace at city mosque

On Friday 25 July, before the start of a protest march through the streets of Durban, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier visited a city Mosque during Friday prayers, where he delivered a message of peace, and urged religious leaders to stand against violence on both sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

This historic visit to the Grey Street Jummah Musjid was the first time a Catholic leader had addressed a Friday prayer congregation in the 100 year history of the landmark mosque.

Speaking on behalf of the KwaZulu-Natal Inter-religious Council (IRC), Napier said: “This is a very emotional situation and one that has been incorrectly presented as a conflict of faith rather than a dispute between two nations.

“As people of faith we reject the use of religion as a mechanism for perpetrating violence. Violence in any form is abhorrent and we urge a speedy and immediate end to the human suffering being experienced in Gaza and Israel,” he said.