Bridges of Light: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre Extends Its Vision to Switzerland

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre has embarked upon a significant cultural mission to Switzerland, extending its role as a beacon of civilisational exchange and human understanding far beyond its marble walls in Abu Dhabi. Under the Jusoor Programme, developed in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE Embassy in Switzerland, the Centre’s leadership has engaged in a series of meaningful encounters designed to illuminate the universal language of art and architecture.

In Bern, the delegation unveiled a scale model of the mosque itself at the headquarters of the Universal Postal Union, a symbolic gesture that carries the essence of Abu Dhabi’s spiritual landmark into the heart of European institutional life. This physical representation speaks to something profound: the capacity of great architecture to transcend geography and touch the imagination of distant cultures.

At the Academy of Architecture in Mendrisio, the Centre’s Director-General presented reflections on the arts as a universal language that speaks to all peoples, irrespective of borders or background. This philosophical foundation animated the entire visit, suggesting that beauty and craftsmanship form a vocabulary more eloquent than words alone. Accompanying these discussions was the travelling photography exhibition Spaces of Light Award, which documents the mosque’s ethereal interplay of light and form, continuing its journey to the UAE Embassy in Switzerland to reach yet wider audiences.

The delegation also cultivated relationships with Swiss cultural institutions, including the Swiss Interreligious Dialogue Association, cementing connections between Abu Dhabi and Europe’s communities of faith and thought. To the library of the Università della Svizzera italiana, the Centre gifted its specialised publications on Islamic architecture and the arts, seeding knowledge that speaks to the sophistication and intellectual rigour of the Islamic artistic tradition.

In these exchanges lies the essence of the mosque’s broader mission: to serve not merely as a place of worship, but as a conduit for understanding, a keeper of heritage, and an ambassador for the beauty that emerges when cultures meet with generosity and curiosity.