Mosque, Church and Synagogue in One Location
A Historic Project
Embracing its diversity, the United Arab Emirates recently announced The Abrahamic Family House project. The House, will bring a mosque, a church, and a synagogue together. It is a physical manifestation of the Document on Human Fraternity, which was signed by Pope Francis and Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar during the pontiff’s visit to Abu Dhabi in February.
Highlighting Islam, Christianity and Judaism, the three Abrahamic religions, the house will be located on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. The Abrahamic Family House is expected to be completed by 2022, and is named after revered prophet Abraham. The project is designed by renowned British architect, David Adjaye. The three main buildings, a mosque, a church and a synagogue will each lead to a central garden, which will include a museum and centre for education. The places of worship are all set to be the same height, however, they will each differ when it comes to exterior and interior design, reflecting each religion.
“There has never been a building that has the three faiths in one form. I wanted to see if we could make a building that has the unique experience of each of the faiths but to connect them all with the one device. And that is the garden,” David Adjaye said.
The mosque will be built facing towards the Kaaba in Makka, while the church’s altar will point east towards the sun, and the synagogue’s podium and Torah will face Jerusalem. Each building will have its separate street entrance, but visitors of the site will be able to look into all three buildings from the garden.
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