“Interfaith dialogue must be the basis for coming together in times of division and as the war in the Middle East drags on, UAE Minister of State, H.E Noura Al Kaabi, told The National on Monday.”
“The UAE is working on ridding Islam of a negative reputation acquired after terror attacks spread in the past decades across the globe in the name of religion, said Abdulla Al Shehhi, acting executive director of the Abrahamic Family House.
“Due to the unfortunate desecration of the faith from 20 or 30 years ago to today, Islam is always touted as the intolerant faith, the faith that hates everybody, so it was really important to set the framework whereby Islam is actually a medium or a glue that brings other people together,” Mr Al Shehhi told the panel on interfaith innovation. “We try to embody that within the DNA of the Abrahamic Family House through everything that we do.””
“The UAE’s message for future policy on the region focuses on clarity, said Ms Al Kaabi. “Clarity in terms of a roadmap, clarity in terms of the two-state solution, clarity in terms of how we should look at how to empower our partners to reach a resolution,” she added. “I hope an election can solve it, but I think we need more of a collective effort.””
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Interfaith dialogue is the “API” connectivity between all faiths, especially where there is very little overlap between any two faiths. It is wholly and solely through dialogue that we sow the seeds of tolerance, trust and mutual respect, between our respective faiths.
I had the good fortune of meeting Ralph Heimans, an Australian portraitist, in 2001 whom I commisioned to do my portrait when I still resided in London. Upon relocating to hashtagDubai in 2004 and starting my second venture Privity FZ LLE to focus on technology ventures, I discovered that I was way too early as Dubai was in “build mode 1.0” focusing on real-estate and construction. I partnered with Ralph and starting seeking work on his behalf. We landed his first commission in 2005 which was not a portrait. The subject matter focused on the region and on interfaith and was titled the “Dialogue”. More on this in the links below.
“Interfaith dialogue basis for tackling conflict, says UAE’s Noura Al Kaabi” article dated 11th November 2024 in The National caught my attention and took me back 19 years when the making of the “Dialogue” was being discussed.
Ralph Heimans is a Privity FZ LLE portfolio partner and I have been honoured and privileged to watch his meteoric rise to fame unfold over the last 23 years.