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Berlin is hoping to make history when it opens the doors of the world’s first house of prayer for Christians, Muslims and Jews. House of One, as the project is called, is all about connecting the three religions by housing a church, synagogue and mosque – all under one roof.
The project’s organizers, Pastor Gregor Hohberg, Rabbi Tovia Ben-Chorin and Imam Kadir Sanci, agreed that Berlin would be a fitting location for the House of One. As Hohberg told The Independent, "Berlin is the city of…the peaceful coexistence of believers from different faiths – they yearn to understand each other." The project will also be constructed on Museum Island, which houses the remains of the Petrikirche, Berlin’s earliest church dating back to the 13th century. When the site was excavated in 2009, Hohberg said, it was agreed that “something visionary and forward looking should be built [there].”
The design of the building also portrays its purpose of bringing people of different religions together. While the synagogue, church and mosque will be separate spaces within the building, all three rooms will lead to a large common area. The building has only one entrance - regardless of faith, everyone comes in through the same front door. As Iman Sanci told The Independent, the aim is to encourage a conscious dialogue between the different faiths and cultures brought together in a place of prayer. "We want our children to have a future in which diversity is the norm," he said.
Set to begin construction in 2016, the project is as much about providing a unique place of worship as it is about bringing diverse peoples together. While the concept is to house three religions under one roof, the overarching goal is to create a metaphorical roof - one that unifies people of different faiths and ideologies, not just in prayer, but in life.
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