Europe’s Muslim leaders express hope that Pope Leo will be a peacemaker

Leaders of Muslim communities in Spain, Italy and Germany believe the first American pope will provide a helpful counterpoint to the policies of Donald Trump

On Sunday 18 May, Pope Leo XIV held his first official mass in St Peter’s Square, attended by some of the world’s most powerful figures including US vice-president JD Vance, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The next day, he met leaders from the other major religions, including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism. 

Imam Yahya Pallavicini, vice-president of Coreis, one of the main associations representing Italy‘s Islamic community, attended both events. He described a promising start to a new papacy in which interreligious dialogue and the promotion of peaceful resolution to global conflict are urgent priorities. 

“It was a very important moment that I think will have implications for our responsibilities in the world,” Pallavicini said.

The selection of Robert Prevost — a cardinal for only two years before his election — as the first American pope just months after the inauguration of US president Donald Trump for his second term has been described as significant. When still Cardinal Prevost, the new head of the Catholic church appears to have reposted social media messages critical of Trump and Vance on a number of issues, including immigration. 

Pallavicini stressed that while the pope is first and foremost a religious authority, he may also provide a welcome alternative to the Trump administration in his values: “one can be American and yet be very distant from what seems to be Trump’s personality.” 

Imam Benjamin Idriz, chair of the Munich Forum for Islam, went further, voicing hopes that the new pope may exert a restraining influence over the US administration. “[Leo] is an American pope and he has a certain authority with Trump that will make Trump more cautious in the future,” he said. “He could also be a kind of American that defends European perspectives, which would make him a counterpoint [to Trump].” 

A few days after his inauguration, Pope Leo made an appeal for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to enter the besieged Palestinian enclave, in an indication that he plans to continue the high-profile efforts of his predecessor Pope Francis to bring about peace in Israel and Palestine.

Mariam Isabel Romero, president of Spain’s Islamic Board and founder of its Halal Institute, suggested that Pope Leo might succeed as a mediator in a solution to the conflict where other political and institutional actors have previously failed. “The EU should do more. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation should do more too. This has to stop, this cannot be,” Romero said. “We need to sit down, we need to negotiate.”

Others expressed their hope that the Vatican may offer its support in promoting integration and the defence of the rights of European Muslims, increasingly under threat from the rise of the political right. 

“Right-wing populist parties are on the rise in various countries. And so minorities suffer, and among minorities, Muslims are also very much affected by racism and Islamophobia. I hope that the Pope will raise his voice against anti-Muslim racism and Islamophobia,” Idriz said. 

Idriz suggested that a symbolic sign of commitment to this effort would be for Leo XIV to become the first pope to visit a mosque in Europe.

“That would be a strong signal towards the coexistence of Muslims and Christians in Europe,” he said.