A lavish Torah scroll written in Israel and then presented to the ruler of the United Arab Emirates is the centrepiece of a new documentary screened in London.

The scroll was painstakingly written in the Orthodox centre Bnei Brak and taken to Brooklyn, New York, where its case was finished, before it was presented to the UAE’s founding father’s son and current ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, by the country’s Jewish community.

The embassy of the UAE in London held a screening of the documentary, Amen-Amen-Amen: A Story of Our Times, for an audience of cultural and religious leaders from across the UK and UAE.

The film, which was produced by the Religion Media Company, depicts how the UAE views religious pluralism as a civic virtue and important area of public policy, told through the story of the Torah scroll.

Presentation ceremony

The presentation ceremony

The Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community of the Emirates, Rabbi Yehuda Sarna, says in the film: “Involved in the composition of the Torah were Sephardic Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, reform, conservative, Orthodox, young, old, students, and grandparents. The highest bond of trust occurs when one gives a Torah as a gift to another.”

The Torah scroll was presented to Sheikh Mohamed in 2019, an entire year before Israel and the UAE established full diplomatic relations through the Abraham Accords. It is believed to be the first Torah ever dedicated to an Arab ruler.

During the dedication ceremony, Jewish prayers were said in the presence of Sheikh Mohamed. The UAE’s Minister for Tolerance had a hand in writing the very last letter of the Torah as a symbolic gesture of goodwill.

The film’s director, Tom Gallagher, said: “Stories are powerful, and there are many hopeful stories happening, particularly in the UAE, but also in the region.

“We have been edified by the warm reception the film has received by audiences and at film festivals around the globe.”