Tbilisi’s Peace Project is one of the world’s first to bring a mosque, church, and synagogue under one roof. Dan Hardoon explores this radical experiment in interfaith relations.
In Tbilisi, Georgia, a radical experiment in interfaith relations is taking place. The Peace Project is one of the world’s first to bring a mosque, synagogue, church, and other places of worship together under one roof. Sounds of Muslim prayer, Shabbat services, and Georgian hymns fill the air as worshippers from different faiths mingle and break bread in the communal Hall of Abraham.
The project is the brainchild of Malkhaz Songulashvili, a maverick Bishop of Georgia’s Evangelical-Baptist Church, and is attracting attention from religious leaders around the world.
But Songulashvili’s Peace Project is facing opposition from Georgia’s Orthodox Christian establishment and other groups who dislike the idea of different religions mixing in this way.
Dan Hardoon visits the Peace Project to hear from those who worship there and explore whether the idea of peaceful coexistence is strong enough to hold these communities together.
Presenter/producer: Dan Hardoon
An Overcoat Media production for BBC World Service
(Photo: Malkhaz Songulashvili, a maverick Bishop of Georgia’s Evangelical-Baptist Church. Credit: Nanuka Zumbulidze)
