On Thursday, Feb. 16, the United Arab Emirates 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, Christian cross and a Jewish menorah, respectively, shining a hopeful light for interfaith tolerance and understanding. Something good is happening in the desert — but will it make a lasting difference?
The road to Thursday’s opening began with Pope Francis’ February 2019 trip to the UAE, where he met with the grand imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, 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.”
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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 reestablishment 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.”
But while the center is novel, the UAE has been promoting tolerance for several years. The Abrahamic Family House joins other initiatives, including a special ministry of tolerance, and hosts the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace. The UAE has also demonstrated a commitment to promoting tolerance outside its borders, supporting UNESCO’s effort to reconstruct a historic mosque and two nearby churches in Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, after they were destroyed by ISIS.
Some have questioned the sincerity of these types of efforts, seeing them as a way to distract from the region’s rough politics or deficits when it comes to democracy. But such work can simultaneously reflect a country’s interests and values. The UAE’s leadership has also focused on countering ISIS’ ideology and the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Abrahamic Family House can be seen as a positive flipside to these darker battles.
The Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, which is named after the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, the leading authority on Sunni Islam, is oriented towards Mecca. Its windows are made of delicate latticework, called mashrabiya, and are designed to allow for the circulation of air while regulating light and maintaining privacy.
“What you’re going to see in all the projects is that it’s always about a filtering of light, a splitting of light,” Adjaye told CNN’s Becky Anderson.
“In the Mosque… the light surrounds you until you get to the silence and the stoicness of facing Mecca,” he said.
His Holiness Francis Church is dedicated to the 13th century monk St. Francis of Assisi, after whom the current Catholic pope is named. It is oriented towards the rising sun in the east. The ceiling is made of timber and is meant to invoke the biblical and Quranic story of Noah’s Ark.
In the church, “you hear the sound of rushing water,” said Adjaye. “For me, water is so important with Christianity. The church is an ark in the world.”
The Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue honors the 12th century Jewish philosopher known as Rabbi Maimonides. The scholar was also a medical doctor who led the Mediterranean Jewish world and whose patients included Saladin, the Muslim ruler of Egypt and Syria.
The synagogue is the UAE’s first purpose-built Jewish place of worship and, like most synagogues around the world, is oriented towards Jerusalem. It is inspired by the Jewish festival of the Sukkot, which is celebrated by building temporary shelters. An oculus in the ceiling of the space lets direct light come inside. “The light of the mid-day kisses the rabbi in the center very directly,” Adjaye said.
The Jewish community in the UAE had previously used makeshift synagogues.
While entirely unique, each individual building is a 30-meter (98 feet) by 30-meter cube. The unifying design is meant to provide a common base from which tolerance and understanding can be promoted, Adjaye said.
Abrahamic Family House
The Abrahamic Family House (Arabic: بيت العائلة الإبراهيمية) is an interfaith complex on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. The undertaking was inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis on behalf of the Catholic Church and Ahmed El-Tayeb on behalf of the al-Azhar Mosque on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi. It houses the St. Francis Church, Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue in separate structures.[2][3][4]
The implementation of the project is supervised by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF).
History
The spiritual predecessor of this project was a tri-faith building envisioned by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat that was to be built at the base of Mt. Sinai. After his assassination, his successor Hosni Mubarak had also agreed to move forward with the project but never did.
The project was announced by Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, on 5 February 2019 at a meeting of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity at the New York Public Library.
It was officially inaugurated on 16 February 2023 by Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence.
Purpose
Model of the site and its three main buildings
The Abrahamic Family House aims to serve as a community for inter-religious dialogue and exchange and be a physical manifestation of the Document on Human Fraternity. It will provide learning resources as well as spaces for worship.
The complex seeks to represent interfaith co-existence, preserves the unique character of the religions represented and build bridges between human civilization and the Abrahamic messages.
Design
Design
The design of the Abrahamic Family House has been prepared by the award-winning architectural and design firm Adjaye Associates, headed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye,[12] who unveiled the plan of the project during a New York City event.
The three cubic houses of worship sit upon a secular visitor pavilion,[13][14] and aim to represent the diverse worshippers, residents, and visitors of Abu Dhabi. Adjaye highlighted that he wanted to “create a building that starts to dissolve the notion of hierarchical difference – it should represent universality and totality – something higher, that enhances the richness of human life”.[13][15] The design of this religious complex comprises three unaligned cubes sitting on a plinth, and each of them has a different orientation.[14] The silhouette of the building makes the cubes look unified, and each of them is illustrated with colonnades, screens and vaults.[14] The site also includes a cultural center that will promote the values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence while the unique character of each faith is preserved.
The space’s design is similar to that of the Tri-Faith Commons in the US.
Naming of Church, Mosque, and Synagogue
The three houses of worship have been named after the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayeb, the Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi, and the 12th century Jewish philosopher and rabbinical scholar Moses Ben Maimon – Imam Al-Tayeb Mosque, St. Francis Church, and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, respectively.
In popular culture
The Abrahamic Family House inspired a symphony titled “Symphony of Three” composed by Ihab Darwish, John Debney and David Shire.[20] The symphonic performance commissioned and produced by Abu Dhabi Festival, and co-produced by Ihab Darwish, Zofia Jeziorna[21] and Robert Townson,[22] brought[23] together vocal ensembles, composers and musicians from Christian, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds to celebrate dialogue among different faiths.
