Al Amana Centre

Al Amana Centre is the legacy of the Reformed Church in America’s medical, educational, and other missionary and humanitarian work in Oman. Al Amana, in its current iteration, was formed in 1987. The modern era of its programming was established in 2001 under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Michael Bos and continues today with Rev. Justin Meyers as executive director.

Vision: We seek to foster peace and reconciliation through safe and immersive interfaith and intercultural experiences. We seek to facilitate people moving from the starting point of tolerance to mutual understanding and empathy that allows for them to work for unity, justice, and shared human values that lead to a lasting and sustainable peace.

Mission: We are a Christian-led, interfaith and ecumenical organization. Our staff consists of expatriate Christians and local Omani Muslims. Our Christian staff comes from different traditions and our board of directors has regional leaders as ex-officio members from the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches in the Gulf. We have a close relationship with Oman’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.

Important Undertakings: 

-Bring people from outside Oman to learn about and experience:

• Islam and Arab Culture as experienced and lived in Oman.
• Global Christianity  shown in the  different churches and denominations from around the world that worship in Oman.
• How people of different religions and cultures live peacefully together in a Muslim-majority country.

-Create a safe space for people of different religions to meet and learn about each other:

• Bringing people of different religions from the same country to have a shared experience in Oman.
• Teach techniques to foster mutual understanding and learning about another religion.
• Learn how to ‘play’ together and to share life without religion being a barrier to community building.

-Take Omanis abroad to:

• Learn about other cultures and religions.
• Experience Islam in a minority context.
• Give Omani youth competence in engaging with other cultures outside Oman.

Future Objectives: we hope to continue to build ecumenical partnerships from around the globe and increase our capacity to expose people of different faiths and cultures to the lived reality of religious pluralism that exists in Oman and that is supported by the laws, practices, and culture of Oman. While our focus has been primarily with Muslims and Christians, we are planning future programs with Hindus and Sikhs.