British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque here during his official visit to the United Arab Emirates. The visiting minister was received by the UAE's Minister of Culture and Youth Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi. Cleverly and his delegation, accompanied by Al Kaabi and Yousef Al Obaidli, the director-general of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center, toured around the mosque, where they were briefed by one of the center's cultural specialists about the mosque's cultural message that calls for coexistence, tolerance, and openness, which is derived from the values of the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. They also learned about the center's role in promoting a tolerant Islamic culture and interactions between all cultures and peoples from around the world. They then visited the mosque's visitor center and library, which houses unique publications about Islamic civilizations and sciences, and were introduced to the history of the mosque's establishment and its Islamic architecture. At the end of the visit, James Cleverly received a copy of the book, entitled, "Spaces of Light," which was published by the mosque and contains photos that won the "Spaces of Light" photography contest organized by the center. The mosque, which is managed by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, is supported and monitored by the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the minister of presidential affairs, and was founded as a center of the cultural and intellectual movement, based on the values and principles promoted by Sheikh Zayed and the national identity inspired by Islamic teachings.
