His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has ordered the renaming of the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Mosque in Al Mushrif area to ‘Mariam, Umm Eisa’ — Arabic for ‘Mary, the mother of Jesus’. .
The move aims to promote the social connections between the followers of different religions and strengthen the common characteristics between them.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, expressed appreciation for the move, saying it reflected Sheikh Mohamed's "pure humanity and portrays a bright image of the real tolerance and coexistence in the UAE".
She said renaming the mosque has tolerant qualities, especially as this event coincides with the Zayed Humanitarian Day, which was marked on Wednesday (Ramadan 19).
Just steps away from the newly-renamed mosque is St Andrew’s Church, an Anglican parish. Its senior chaplain, Reverend Canon Andrew Thompson, said that he was “delighted” with the news.
