Freedom of religion is the freedom to practice tolerance: A case study of Abrahamic Palace Abu Dhabi
The story of the Abrahamic Palace started on February 4, 2019, when the head of the catholic church, Pope Francis, and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Mosque, Ahmed Al Tayeb, agreed to develop a society to achieve peace in the world with the support of each other. This agreement was named Document on Human Fraternity and was signed in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Both Pope Francis and Ahmed Al Tayeb won the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity Award. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed arranged a meeting with both winners of the Zayed Award and got inspired by their thoughts of universal togetherness and allocated land in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island to construct this documented human fraternity agreement into physical manifestation on August 19, 2019. Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig is the senior representative at Washington Hebrew Congregation. He joined Human Fraternity Committee on September 17, 2019.
Abrahamic Family House is scheduled to open in 2022. It will be a point of mutual understanding and a place that gives true meaning to harmonious coexistence for people of different religions, as it will serve as goodwill for those promoting peace while following their faiths. Abrahamic Family House is an effort to combine people of three religions, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, as it will have a mosque, church, and synagogue to perform religious ceremonies. Moreover, it will also have an educational center.
The concept was to develop a platform to capture shared values among three religions to nurture acceptance and understanding among people. Government support behind this landmark represents the vision of the UAE to promote tolerance and diversity through hospitality. Furthermore, the Abrahamic Family House will host programs, including international summits, until religious services.