On Feb. 16, 2023, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially opened the Abrahamic Family House, consisting of a mosque, church and synagogue that face one another on the same square in Abu Dhabi. Beside each one stands a tall pillar illuminating an Islamic crescent, a Christian cross and a Jewish menorah, respectively, shining a hopeful light for interfaith tolerance and understanding.
The road to its opening began with Pope Francis’ February 2019 trip to the UAE, where he met with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, leader of the oldest Islamic educational institute in the world. Their meeting ended with their signing of the Document on Human Fraternity, which set ambitious goals to foster interfaith understanding.
Four years later, Muslims, Christians and Jews gathered to inaugurate the three worship centers, each representing one of the three Abrahamic faiths, and a representative from each faith provided inaugural remarks.
The president of the center, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, spoke of a “new landmark” in the country, built within sight of the six-year-old Louvre Abu Dhabi. The three worship sites, he said, stand for hope “for peaceful coexistence and understanding.”
The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, noting that “fear is the outcome of a lack of knowledge,” referred to the center as a “beacon of mutual understanding.” The cardinal said that believers do not need to walk away from their deeply held beliefs to befriend others and to visit their houses of worship. “Without renouncing different spiritual resources,” he said, “each has a command to live with brothers and sisters whatever their religion.”
Lastly, the chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, Ephraim Mirvis, referred to the moment as “historic,” seeing the “children of Abraham gathered … to build a new world.” He challenged the audience to “recognize the part of the divine in every person” so we can “shape a new world built from loving kindness.”
But what made a remarkable event even more so was how it represented the re-establishment of Jewish life in the UAE, restoring Judaism to its historic place in Middle Eastern life. No purpose-built synagogue has arisen in the region since 1931, but here was the UAE government, which paid for the construction of all three houses, erecting a synagogue in its national capital. Bruce Lustig, rabbi emeritus at Washington D.C.’s Hebrew Congregation, who was involved in the project, told me the new building “changes all the rules.”
The Abrahamic Family House will be a significant milestone if the center becomes a vibrant place for faiths to interact and fellowship. But a milestone is not an endpoint, rather, it marks progress toward a destination. With its opening, the Abrahamic Family House is now a visible landmark in the Middle East for this journey.
Source: Knox Thames, Religion News Service
