Before President Donald Trump departed from the Middle East last week, his motorcade made a notable stop in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, concluding with his inaugural visit as a U.S. president to the Abrahamic Family House, a multifaith complex that includes houses of worship for Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
During the tour, which featured stops at the mosque, church, and synagogue, Trump highlighted the importance of coexistence, reinforcing the message he conveyed in a speech earlier that week at a Saudi investment conference.
“From the perspective of the United States, this serves as a clear indication to everyone he interacted with during his trip, as well as to those he hasn’t yet met, that religious liberty and tolerance are vital for the future,” stated Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director of global social action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in a conversation with Jewish Insider last week.
Trump had recently concluded a four-day journey through Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE, discussing the efforts of Gulf nations to modernize and distance themselves from sectarian discord.
“We are witnessing a fresh generation of leaders who are moving beyond the age-old conflicts of the past to create a Middle East characterized by commerce instead of chaos; where the region exports technology rather than terrorism; and where individuals of varied nations, faiths, and beliefs collaborate on building cities rather than destroying each other,” the president remarked at the conference.
Trump further utilized the occasion to urge Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel, following the example set by the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco. This begs the question: could Saudi Arabia establish its own version of the Abrahamic Family House or a similar initiative to promote religious diversity?
Experts on religious freedom express skepticism regarding this possibility. It is only in recent years that individuals of other faiths have been allowed to practice their religions, albeit privately, in Saudi Arabia, as part of the extensive reforms enacted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Nonetheless, with virtually unrestricted authority and resources, MBS’s next steps remain unpredictable, especially regarding religion in this predominately Sunni Muslim nation.
“I believe we won’t witness an exact replica of the Abrahamic Family House in another nation. Instead, I foresee each country developing similar initiatives in their own unique ways in the future,” suggested Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader who was part of the inaugural delegation of evangelical leaders to Saudi Arabia in 2018. “The starting point in Saudi Arabia, however, is markedly different.”
As the cradle of Islam and home to Mecca, Saudi Arabia is considered the leading representative of the Muslim world. Conversely, the UAE, a smaller country where nearly 90% of the populace comprises expatriates, has not implemented Islamic law as stringently.
“The approach of permitting expatriates to worship freely and engaging in cultural practices that aren’t strictly Islamic appears quite distinct in a nation where most residents are expatriates, compared to one where the majority are Arab Muslims,” Moore remarked.
Bin Salman has expressed his ambition to transform Saudi Arabia into a global hub for business and tourism. This objective prompted his 2016 decision to significantly reduce the powers of the religious police, who had long overseen daily life in the nation, in hopes of rendering the country more appealing to foreign visitors.
In 2022, the Muslim World League, a prominent Islamic NGO, organized a forum in Riyadh that included a wide range of international religious leaders—rabbis, Muslim clerics, evangelicals, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has recently made strides to eliminate derogatory references to Jews and Christians from its textbooks.
Houda Nonoo, the former Bahraini ambassador to the U.S., celebrated “the existence of interfaith houses of worship throughout the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council]” as a significant representation of coexistence and mutual respect. The king of Bahrain has actively promoted religious tolerance in his nation, which is situated between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“Establishing places of worship for all faiths represents an important step toward ensuring that individuals of every religion feel acknowledged, respected, and genuinely welcome,” Nonoo conveyed to Jewish Insider last week, opting not to comment specifically on whether Saudi Arabia should adopt a similar model.
In summary, genuine religious pluralism in Saudi Arabia is still a distant reality. The State Department has listed Saudi Arabia as a “country of particular concern” regarding international religious freedom since 2004, alongside nations like China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
A U.S. delegation visiting the country last year left early after Saudi officials requested then-chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Cooper, to remove his yarmulke. The Saudi Embassy in Washington later acknowledged the incident as “unfortunate” and a “misunderstanding of internal protocols.”
Despite occasionally facing global criticism for such events and other human rights violations, Saudi Arabia is poised to play a significant role in shaping the evolving Middle Eastern landscape, particularly concerning Israel’s position in the region.
“Undeniably, the most critical discourse surrounding how we progress towards peace is centered around Saudi Arabia,” Cooper asserted. “It is expected that any actions taken by the Saudis will carry a distinct Saudi hallmark, reflecting their unique circumstances and heritage.”