It is disappointing that very few Muslim leaders have expressed condolences and sympathies over the passing of Pope John Paul II. The Pope has been the most supportive ally of the Muslims coming from the Christian world.

The Pope's condemnation of the war in Iraq was strong and unequivocal, unlike the wishy-washy statements coming from world's Muslim leaders including our Malaysian government.

Many Muslim leaders, including from Malaysia pretend to oppose the war in Iraq, but when peaceful anti-war demonstrations are held, out come the FRU (Federal Reserve Unit) and their water cannons.

The Pope also championed the rights of the Palestinians and brought the plight of the Palestinians back to the forefront of world's public opinion. Many Muslim leaders like to pretend to support the Palestinians but few actually visit the squalid refugee camps like the Pope did.

In the 1980s when other European nations supported Saddam Hussein's aggression towards Iran and the Iraqi Kurds, the Vatican under the leadership of the Pope fostered close ties with the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. The Pope chose his foreign policy based on religious morals and conviction instead of the Machiavellian ungodly practices promoting war, hegemony and world domination adopted by the secular Christian governments.

No doubt, the Pope was a Saint in terms of his Christian faith and even in Islamic terms he can be considered a "mukmin" (a pious and devout servant of God).