The first Peace Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia will be inaugurated next month and a South African will be involved in the process. The mentioned South African is Yusuf Ganief, who is also the CEO of the Cape Town Arts Festival.
Inaugurating the first Peace Cathedral
Ganief, the CEO of the Cape Town Arts Festival and multi-lingual lead singer for Desert Rose will inaugurate the House of One, Peace Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia in the summer of July 2023. This ground-breaking initiative unites three Abrahamic places of worship under one roof.
Yusuf and his wife, Lynne Holmes-Ganief, will lead the sacred interfaith songs at the opening of the mosque, Christian church and synagogue over 3 days of celebrations. This will mark a historical event in the war-torn region.
“It reminds us that we can go beyond dogma and prejudice, to stand united under one roof and in one place of worship, whether we are Christian, Muslim, Jew or any other faith group. this is in line with the original purpose of the Cape Town Festival which was born out of the One City, Many Cultures initiative by Ryland Fisher in 1999.”
He added, “My life has been dedicated to promoting interfaith and common humanity.” Ganief says, “This initiative is deeply close to my heart and my life’s work. It reminds us of our common journey and destination.”
A space for interfaith dialogue
With growing anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Georgia, the Peace Cathedral embraces a home for all, with Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili at the heart of this interfaith initiative. Songulashvili is the Metropolitan Bishop of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia and professor of comparative theology at Ilia State University in Tbilisi. He calls the Peace Cathedral a way of “responding to ugliness with beauty.”
The House of One, Peace Cathedral in Tbilisi
He has transformed his church into a multi-faith space for the worship of all three Abrahamic faiths. In addition to the mosque, synagogue and church, there is a space for interfaith dialogue. There is also an interfaith library for children and adults.
“On the journey for interfaith peace and harmony, we are being inspired, encouraged and empowered by sacred music. This is why the Ministry of Desert Rose is so important.”
Bishop Malkhaz says, “We hope that their visit to the Peace Cathedral in Georgia will refresh our commitment to interfaith harmony, peace and justice.”
The flourishing of creativity and cross-pollination of musical backgrounds
Yusuf Ganief is also familiar with adversity for his open and moderate views. The sun went supernova when the different worlds of Yusuf and world music composer, Lynne Holmes – Ganief collided in 2005.
MORE ABOUT: Desert Rose
The flourishing of creativity and cross-pollination of musical backgrounds started a musical revolution in Cape Town. As their popularity grew, fundamentalists stepped in with a banning, a fatwa. This made headlines across South African mainstream news.
Icons, such as Archbishop Tutu stepped in to endorse their work, and to speak out against the fatwa.
Since 2012, Yusuf and Lynne travelled the world on a music pilgrimage, performing in more than 20 countries, spreading their message of universal peace and tolerance, until the Covid lockdown. During the pandemic, Yusuf returned to the Cape Town Arts Festival to help struggling artists.
