{
  "id": 18237752,
  "title": "Three houses, one garden, inside Abu Dhabi’s Abrahamic Family House",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/three-houses-one-garden-inside-abu-dhabis-abrahamic-family-house",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-05T03:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/uae/abu-dhabi/three-houses-one-garden-inside-abu-dhabis-abrahamic-family-house-1.500736181"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Saadiyat Island, just off the coast of Abu Dhabi, three identical structures stand side by side. These buildings, a mosque, a church, and a synagogue, each represent one of the three Abrahamic faiths: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The site, known as the Abrahamic Family House, was designed by Sir David Adjaye and opened to the public in 2023.\n\nAll three structures share the same cubic dimensions of 30 x 30 x 30 meters and sit atop a single pedestrian pavilion, creating a shared public space for visitors of all faiths. The mosque, named after the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, features a minimalist design with seven arches, reflecting the significance of the number seven in Islam. Its elegant interiors, with their light and quiet atmosphere, provide a peaceful retreat for worshippers.\n\nAdjacent to the mosque stands the St. Francis Church, named after St. Francis of Assisi. Its interior, with its brown timber and dramatic ceiling of cascading light beams, creates a warm and spiritual ambiance. The church can accommodate over 300 worshippers and, while open to all denominations, is formally a Catholic church administered by the Vatican in Rome.\n\nThe third building, the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, is named for the medieval scholar Moses Ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides. Inside, the sanctuary welcomes over 200 worshippers and includes a mikveh, a ritual bath, and a beit midrash, a study hall, offering the growing Jewish community in Abu Dhabi a full home for prayer, ritual, and study. This is the first synagogue of its kind built for that purpose in the UAE.\n\nThe entire complex is surrounded by a central garden, which will house a museum and a center for education. The design aims to promote inclusivity and accessibility for all, including people with disabilities. Visitors can find an 'Intention Wall', a free space where visitors can leave their thoughts, intentions, and reflections, to leave a piece of themselves at the doors of inclusivity.\n\nThe Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, a city that is home to all, serves as a reminder of the importance of peaceful coexistence between different faiths, a message that is meant to serve generations to come.",
  "summary": "Abu Dhabi: On Saadiyat Island, a short distance from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, three near-identical cubes rise from a shared plinth. One is a mosque, one a church, one a synagogue. Between them lies a garden, and beneath them a forum where visitors of every faith are invited to meet. Designed by Sir David Adjaye and opened to the public in 2023, the Abrahamic Family House takes its name from the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}