Pope Francis sent a special message to Muslim leaders, especially those in the Middle East, earlier this week.
In the pope's Christmas letter to the persecuted Christians in the region, he also challenged Muslim leaders to condemn the violent acts of terrorist groups which claim they promote the Islam religion.
To make things more specific, Pope Francis asked them to be bolder in pushing for a "more authentic image of Islam, as so many of them desire."
"Islam is a religion of peace, one which is compatible with respect for human rights and peaceful coexistence," he added.
During his open Christmas letter, the pope said that he is close to the Christian victims throughout the Middle East, including kidnapping and other violent activities.
Earlier this week, more than 100 non-Muslims were killed by terrorist group Boko Haram. While there were no exact numbers of the Christian victims, the fact that these groups are aiming to 'cleanse' their nations of non-Muslim citizens already proves how they are willing to take such actions in order to achieve their goals.
A hostage crisis also took place in Sydney a week ago, where the suspect, an Iranian national, took as hostage 16 individuals from a cafe shop. After hours of stand-off and a raid by the authorities, three were killed, including the suspect.
In Iran, pastor Saeed Abedini was jailed and given an 8-year sentence just for being a Christian. He recently spent his third Christmas in prison.