The Remarkable Interfaith Initiatives from the Arabian Peninsula: KAICIID and the Abrahamic Family House as Paradigms

5 June, 2025

We are deeply honoured to welcome Rabbi David Rosen, KSG, CBE, Special Advisor in Interfaith and Jewish Affairs at the Abrahamic Family House, Abu Dhabi, UAE, to lead the Peacebuilding in Interfaith Contexts Reading Group session.

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Here are the details of this fascinating event.

Title: The Remarkable Interfaith Initiatives from the Arabian Peninsula: KAICIID and the Abrahamic Family House as Paradigms.

Abstract: While the modern interfaith movement is some one hundred and thirty years old, there had hardly been any interfaith initiatives from the Arab Muslim world until very recently. This presentation will review the history of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s remarkable call to the Muslim world to support his interfaith initiative, commencing with the pan-Islamic gathering in Mecca in 2005 that culminated in the establishment of KAICIID (the King Abdullah International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue), and the motives and purposes that drove it. These were significantly impacted by the bombing of the Twin Towers in 2001, but reflected broad geopolitical concerns. Above all, it was part of a wider strategy for Saudi society manifest in many additional groundbreaking initiatives. This also impacted a number of internal developments that have been dramatically taken forward under King Salman, not least of all the remarkable changes in the educational system and textbooks. The concerns and strategic vision of King Abdullah were also those of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayyed, long before he assumed the presidency of the UAE. This presentation will review the steps he took to counter radical Islamist extremism, particularly through the engagement of enlightened Muslim religious leadership and the institutions that were established to advance this goal. Specific focus will be on the year 2019, declared the Year of Tolerance by the UAE and the historic visit of Pope Francis to Abu Dhabi, the Declaration of Human Fraternity, and the establishment of the Abrahamic Family House, containing three autonomous houses of worship for the three main Abrahamic religions, and whose design and operation will be described in detail.

Speaker: Rabbi David Rosen, KSG, CBE, Special Advisor, Interfaith and Jewish Affairs, Abrahamic Family House, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Speaker’s Biography: Rabbi David Rosen has retired from his position as AJC’s International Director of Interreligious Affairs after twenty three years, but continues to serve as Special Interfaith Advisor to the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi. Rosen has been advancing understanding and good relations between religious communities for more than forty years – from the time he served as rabbi of the largest Orthodox Jewish congregation in South Africa, during his tenure as Chief Rabbi of Ireland; and throughout the last more than thirty years based in Jerusalem. In addition to interreligious representation and education, his work involves mediation and peace building and he is heavily involved in multi-religious engagement on ecological issues. Among the various awards and recognition he has received, Rabbi Rosen was granted a papal Knighthood in 2005 for his contribution to Jewish-Catholic reconciliation and in 2010 he was made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II for his work promoting interfaith understanding and cooperation.

Chair: Mr Zeshan Zafar, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace, UAE

Date: 5 June, 2025

Time: 18:00-19:00 BST| 19:00-20:00 CEST | 10:00-11:00 PST | 13:00-14:00 EST

Venue: online

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