The construction of 19 non-Muslim places of worship for communities residing in Abu Dhabi for over 33 years, for which authorization procedures are underway, will be built according to the rules of the Emirates.
This was revealed by Sultan Alzaheri, Executive Director of the Department of Community Development in Abu Dhabi, at a press conference organized by the same department in recent days.
Among the 19 places of worship under an authorization, 17 will be churches and chapels available to local Christian communities, while one temple will be allocated to the Hindu community and another to the Sikhs. For those travelers interested in religious tourism, that’s many more place to visit.
In line with the wishes of the late Sheikh Zayed Bun Sultan Al Nahian, known for his sensitivity to the issue of inter-religious coexistence, various meetings were organized with the clergy and representatives of the different faith communities to define the measures and procedures most suitable to guarantee the granting of licenses for the construction of places of worship where to practice one’s own religious rites and liturgies.
Alzaheri added that the department is working to define the legal protocols that regulate the establishment and organization of all places of worship in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, according to the standards adopted by the department, in line with the national legal system inspired by Islamic law – a sign of the harmonious coexistence of religious communities in the Arab Emirates.
The announcement released by Sultan Alzaheri comes after the reopening of the Christian archaeological site of the island of Sir Bani Yas, as a further expression of the desire to promote the harmonious coexistence of religious communities in the United Arab Emirates. In Abu Dhabi, last February 4, Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmad al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar, signed a document on human brotherhood for world peace and common coexistence.
