ABU DHABI, 3rd November, 2018 (WAM) -- Dr. Youssef Al Obaidly, the Director-General of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC), received a US Evangelical Christian delegation led by Joel Rosenberg, currently visiting the country.

The visit fits within the context relevance to the UAE approach instilled by late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in promotion of tolerance, inclusion, respect for differences and peaceful co-existence between various cultural and religious sects.

The guests listened to a description by Dr. Youssef Al Obaidly about the various architectural methods and techniques utilised in its erecting this grand religious edifice. They were introduced to the components of the external hall, including its pillars that support the ceilings and various domes on both sides of the mosque's main hall, which is covered with white marble embellished by coloured flower designs and mosaic.

The US delegates were shown around the mosque and got firsthand knowledge of its inherent message to ensure harmony between originality and modernity on the one hand and between various cultures and religions on the other as well as the unique manifestations of the Islamic architecture that added an aesthetic dimension to the grand religious edifice.

"The establishment of the mosque comes in inculcation of the significant religious and cultural role played by the UAE in bolstering ties between followers of different religions and in uprooting fanatic ideologies, fossilised thinking and bridging the gap between world cultural and heavenly beliefs," said Dr. Al Obaidly.