Abu Dhabi announces names of Abrahamic Family House places of worship

Abu Dhabi: The names of the three houses of worship that will make up the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi have been revealed — Imam Al Tayeb Mosque, St Francis Church and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue.

Set to open in 2022, the Saadiyat Island project aims to inspire tolerance, and has been 20 per cent completed, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Tuesday.

Inspiration

The Abrahamic Family House has been inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity, signed during Pope Francis’ visit to the UAE in February 2019. Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmed El Tayeb, are closely following its progress. The project is supervised by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, an independent committee of religious and cultural leaders who seeks to promote tolerance — and has been designed by Sir David Adjaye, a Ghanaian-British architect.

The entire complex will capture the values shared between the Arahamic religions — Islam, Christianity and Judaism. It will also include a cultural centre that will exemplify human solidarity, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.

The design of the project was first unveiled by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation New York in 2019, during the second meeting of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF). The design was presented to Pope Francis and the Grand Imam during a meeting in November 2019.

Interfaith tolerance

“The Abrahamic Family House epitomises interfaith harmonious coexistence and preserves the unique character of each religion. It personifies Abu Dhabi’s vision for human fraternity and embeds coexistence into the already diverse cultural fabric of the UAE. Overseeing the development of this iconic project is inspiring and reflective of the UAE efforts in realising the values of the Document on Human Fraternity and fostering its lofty principles,” said Mohamed Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture Abu Dhabi (DCT), and a member of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity.

Landmark design

As a place for learning, dialogue and worship, the Abrahamic Family House will be a cultural landmark and an inspiring global symbol that stresses the shared values of harmonious coexistence and understanding.

An iconic geometric architecture of three cubes will make up the facility. During the design phases, members of religious communities worldwide have been engaged and consulted to ensure consistency and adherence to the respective religion’s requirements and teachings.

Historic document

On February 4, 2019, during their historic meeting in Abu Dhabi, El Tayeb and Pope Francis signed the ‘Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together’. In this spirit, the three places of worship that make up the Abrahamic Family House will welcome visitors from all over the world to worship, learn and engage in dialogue. In addition, the complex will offer a variety of daily programs and activities and will host international conferences and world summits that promote harmonious coexistence within communities.