IRAQ DECLARES MARCH AS ANNUAL NATIONAL TOLERANCE HOLIDAY

Following a meeting between Pope Francis and the Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's prime minister has declared March 6 a public holiday, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

The day is to become the National Day of Tolerance and Coexistence, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced on Saturday.

The occasion was Francis' visit to the highest-ranking Shiite cleric in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, a holy city for the Shiites. Francis is the first pope to visit Iraq.

The holiday is also a tribute to the inter-religious meeting that took place on Saturday on the plains of Ur.

The head of the Catholic Church met there on Saturday with representatives of Islam, Christianity and the Yezidis. Contrary to expectations, Jewish representatives did not attend.

According to biblical tradition from the Old Testament, Abraham came from the plain of Ur. The place is therefore important for Muslims, Jews and Christians, as all three religions regard Abraham as the patriarch of their faiths.

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