Christian monastery likely predating Islam found in UAE

A Christian Monastery possibly predating Islam has been found in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday at Siniya Island.

The monastery on the island, part of the sand-dune sheikhdom of Umm al-Quwain, sheds new light on the history of early Christianity along the shores of the Persian Gulf. This is the second instance when a monastery has been discovered on the peninsula.

These two monasteries gradually faded away in history, and many Arab scholars believed that Christians converted to Islam, as the religion spread. Currently, Christians are a minority across the middle east. It is to be noted that Pope Francis arrived in Baharain to promote interfaith harmony.

For Timothy Power, an associate professor of archaeology at the United Arab Emirates University who helped investigate the newly discovered monastery, the UAE today is a “melting pot of nations.”

The fact that something similar was happening here 1,000 years ago is really remarkable and this is a story that deserves to be told,” he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Carbon dating of samples found in the monastery’s foundation dates between 534 and 656. Islam’s Prophet Muhammad was born around 570 and died in 632 after conquering Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia.