One God and Three Religions: Religious Tolerance in the Land of the Nile
15 January 2017
- 07 March 2017
Alexandria, Egypt
Antiquities Museum, Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The BA Antiquities Museum is hosting an exhibition titled “One God and Three Religions: Religious Tolerance in the Land of the Nile” from 15 January to 7 March 2017. The exhibition aims to shed light on religious tolerance and coexistence between civilizations in Egypt among the three monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—from the beginning of the Roman era until the Fatimid Caliphate.
This coexistence has brought forth fine arts that reflect the daily lives and religious beliefs of societies at the time, which has led to the acceptance of the other and their differences.
The exhibition also presents an important message stating that "Abraham is the father of prophets and the messenger of the three religions and that God is one, despite the existence of different religions, places, or races."
The exhibition includes a number of panels that reflect the religious concept and the link between the three religions, in addition to the intertwined influence of those religions, such as a panel depicting religious tolerance in Islam and depicting a document that belonged to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), which showcases how he interacted with individuals of other religions and in which he elucidated the principles and values of coexistence among the citizens of one nation 14 centuries ago. Another panel features a papyrus from the 1st Hijri century that illustrates the tolerance of Islam. The exhibition was also keen to display a panel portraying Egypt’s role and its Complex of Religions in Fustat, which contains places of worship of the three religions, including the Amr ibn al-As Mosque, numerous churches and monasteries, as well as the Ben Ezra Synagogue, all of which represent the magnitude of tolerance in Egypt.
This exhibition was also displayed at the Egyptian Museum from 14 May to 14 July 2015, coinciding with another exhibition with the same name, “One God”, that was held at the Bode Museum in Berlin.