Founded 2006 Focus Social cohesion Employees 9 | Type charity Area served Global | |
Location Washington DC and London, United Kingdom | ||
The Coexist Foundation (stylized Coexist) is a charitable organization based in Washington, D.C. and London, United Kingdom, which aims to advance social cohesion through education and innovation.
The Coexist Foundation was founded in 2006 in London, United Kingdom focused on improving religious relationships between people of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian faiths. The stated mission of the foundation is to "promote, encourage and support engagement between Jews, Christians and Muslims both individually and through their respective communities through dialogue, education and research." Coexist has a not-for-profit relationship with The Gallup Organization. It was founded by Tarek Elgawhary who received his PhD from Princeton University based on his study of the on Islamic law, and has studied traditional Islamic sciences at al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt.
One of the Foundation's current projects is "Understanding Islam" a first series of internet learning resources designed to give an accessible but thorough introduction to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Coexist joined with online education specialists Microbooks and a team of scholars to develop the series.
Piotr Młodożeniec a Polish graphic designer created the Coexist sign in 2000 for a contest hosted by The Museum on the Seam for Dialogue, Understanding and Coexistence in Jerusalem. Thus the sign existed before founding of the Coexist Foundation.