Chief Rabbi hold talks with ‘legendary’ Muslim leader Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah

The Chief Rabbi’s “goodness and modesty” has been hailed at a reception hosted by the American Jewish Committee and the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace. 

Former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Rabbi David Rosen, who now heads interrelations affairs at the AJC, told the gathering at the Ritz Carlton Hotel that the Talmud highlighted three qualities that should be found in descendants of Abraham – compassion, modesty and kindness.

Rabbi Rosen said the man he once mentored back In Ireland “cares about those marginalised or ignored in the community. One is always struck not just by his goodness but by his modesty. He sanctifies God’s name in the ways he conducts himself. He is truly a son of Abraham and his care is for all and his presence here is a part of that.”

The reception came on the second day of the Chief Rabbi’s historic visit to UAE as a guest of the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace.

Rabbi Mirvis added: “There’s an excitement in the air as we’ve not yet got used to this new era. Not only are we blessed to reached this moment but it carries with it so many opportunities.”

He hailed the role of the AJC in helping to further the Abraham Accords and Rabbi Rosen, one of the most significant interfaith leaders in the world, who he described as a “gem. The entire Jewish world owes so much”.

He also described Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah, the forum’s founder, as “legendary” and the epitome of “humility”.

His son Sheikh Al Mahfoudh bin Bayyah, who serves as secretary-general of the Forum, said the organisation is teaching for a “paradigm shift” on how Muslims engage with others. Engagement with the AJC, he said, “started with one man: Rabbi Rosen. We call him ‘uncle David’.”

He admitted that engagement hadn’t been universally welcomed at first in the Muslim world, recalling the response to a photograph of his father with the rabbi. “My dad said ‘let them be shocked and let them wake up’. They are all now here at the Forum. We are not doing anything secret. We do it openly.” The sheikh even raised the possibility of an open forum on the Middle East.

Rabbi Sarna, the Chief Rabbi of UAE, spoke of an encounter with a taxi driver from Nigeria in UAE. When the rabbi asked the man to take him to the site of the yet you be opened Abrahamic Family House – where a mosque, church and shul will soon coexist side by side – it became clear he was unfamiliar with the words synagogue or Jews. On learning about the plans for the historic House, the driver was overcome by emotion.

Rabbi Sarna said the encounters enabled by the Abraham Accords and the burgeoning Jewish community paved the way for “each person in their own way has stretched the imagination of what can be”.

Earlier in the day, the Chief Rabbi held talks with Sheikh bin Bayyah, with the former presenting his host with a menorah and Rabbi Mirvis receiving a special commemorative plate.