Pope Francis’s overtures to Middle Eastern governments and religious leaders are an attempt to use the biblical patriarch Abraham to bridge sectarian and political boundaries in a region torn by religious violence.

Iraqi President Barhim Salih heralded the Pope’s arrival in Baghdad last week as “an historic opportunity and occasion to reaffirm the values of love, peace, coexistence, acceptance of others.” Salih’s rhetoric suited the pope’s itinerary, playing on the theme of his attendance at an interfaith meeting hosted by the United Arab Emirates, one of the major Sunni Arab powers.