The documentary follows the journey of Torah, a story about the Jewish community of Abu Dhabi

Following the Torah scroll tour given by the young Jewish community of Abu Dhabi to Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also tells the story of the growth and growth of the Jewish community, and of religious pluralism in the United Arab Emirates the new documentary.

>> Read more articles from The media line.The trailer for “Amen-Amen-Amen” was released on Tuesday. The documentary, funded by the Religion Media Company, is expected to be published in early 2021. “The film’s narrative and breadth look at a particularly religious pluralism in this Muslim country through the eyes and experiences of a small but thriving Jewish community, as well as the experiences of Christians and other believers” in the UAE, Thomas L. Gallagher said. executive producer of the documentary, and founder and CEO of Religion Media Company with The Media Line. “From closing the curtains when we were praying at the Villa [an Ashkenazi synagogue in Dubai in the UAE] five years ago to be able to carry a Torah sefer [Torah scroll] through the gates of the palace. I would never have thought this would be possible, ”Alex Peterfreund, community leader and businessman, told The Media Line about the takeover and growth of the Jewish community in the UAE.Gallagher said during the December 2018 trip to Abu Dhabi where he was He was a panel on a peace forum, he was told that the Jewish community intended to give the Torah scroll to the crown prince. The scroll is dedicated in memory of the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. “I said immediately that this needs to be recorded and that a documentary needs to be created. It was intuitive, instinctive that this would be a historic moment, ”he told The Media Line.

The documentary, he said, is also a story of mutual respect and religious diversity. “Perhaps many in the West, especially Christians, are not aware of the mutual respect in this Muslim country, the United Arab Emirates. Understanding Islam as a religion of peace is a misunderstanding in the West. This film shares a strong human story of mutual respect and religious pluralism, in a place that amazes many Americans, and offers a powerful insight into much of today’s news, ” he said. The film follows Torah’s scroll from a workshop in Israel where he was written to a workshop in Brooklyn where his money case was tortured, and then to a November 2019 inauguration ceremony at a palace in Abu Dhabi. . “It was a special honor to be able to attend as a guest of the Torah scrolling show to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, as well as to allow my film crew to capture the ceremony,” said Gallagher. the Torah scroll is the appropriate gift, Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, chief rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates, told the Media Line. “The basis of Torah ‘s commitment is that the Torah scroll has the value of human life in Judaism. By dedicating our most sacred thing to this Arab ruler – the first historical thing – we wanted to celebrate the level and quality of trust that the Jewish community had felt in UAE leadership. , ”Said Sarna. Those interviewed for the film are former U.S. ambassador to the UAE, Marcelle M. Wahba; journalist Robert Worth, former Middle East journalist for the New York Times Magazine; John Sexton, president emeritus, New York University and NYU co-creator Abu Dhabi; The Rev. Andrew Thomson, longtime chaplain, st. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Abu Dhabi; Rabbi Elie Abadie, MD, senior rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates; and Pastor Bob Roberts, pastor of Northwood Church in Keller, Texas and a leading American evangelical and interfaith activist. “The move to hand over a Torah scroll to an Arab ruler is unbelievable,” said Eli Epstein, a businessman and interfaith activist who first came up with the idea of ​​handing over a Torah scroll. , he said in the film. “I was honored to be part of this historic gift to honor Sheikh Zayed. The country that founded it, the UAE, carries its DNA of tolerance, respect and dignity for all. The blessing of his vision and values ​​illuminates a better future for the Middle East, ”Epstein told The Media Line on Wednesday. Sarna says in the film that the Torah scroll is just the beginning. “I am not at all aware that this gift would solve complex geopolitical problems. What this gift does is provide material for us to create a new statement in the Middle East, ”he said.