A Mosque in Dubai Renamed to Honor Mary, Mother of Jesus
This week, people began sharing a photo online of a mosque with a new name – the ‘Mary, Mother of Jesus Mosque.’
The mosque is located in the Al Mushrif area of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was originally called the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Mosque.
In 2019, the mosque was renamed ‘Mariam, Umm Eisa’ by Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. This new name translates from Arabic to English as ‘Mary, Mother of Jesus.’
The crown prince ordered the name change to promote understanding and positive relationships between people of different faiths.
The renaming of this mosque to honor a major figure in Christianity is seen as a gesture of tolerance in the predominantly Muslim UAE.
