There is an interesting and quite revealing meeting on Pope Francis’s itinerary for his two-day visit to the Holy Land. The pontiff is due to shake hands and exchange remarks with the top Muslim leader of the Palestinian Authority, the Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein.

The Mufti, whether known or unbeknownst to the Vatican, teaches that Jesus was a Palestinian preacher of Islam. He also has blessed suicide bombers as “noble martyrs.”

With regard to the history of Jerusalem, the Mufti firmly asserts that it never harbored a Jewish Temple.  As for marital advice, the Mufti reminds wives that they are subservient to their husbands – at day and night.

In addition to erasing Christianity from the Holy Land, the Mufti also calls for extermination of Jews as a divine mandate. Not exactly a peaceful agenda.

Still, the Mufti holds a senior leadership spot in the PA hierarchy.

But he may be a bit of a challenge for Pope Francis. 

Leo Rennert is a former White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief of McClatchy Newspapers.