“I think it will be a model for the world,” said the Rev. Masud Ibn Syedullah, an Episcopal priest from Hyde Park, New York. “It’s a time when we especially need an increased appreciation for differences, tolerance and celebration of each other.”

“It was surprising to me at first that this was happening in Omaha, of all places,” said Rabbi Shefa Gold of Jemez Springs, New Mexico. “I just didn’t expect this kind of vision to be happening here.”

“I did not understand the depth of the tri-faith project until I came here and saw it on the ground,” said Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat of Baltimore. “I was delighted to see that Omaha was a pioneer.”

The 35-acre site south of 132nd and Pacific Streets is about to achieve another milestone — a mosque will open on May 26, the start of the 30-day observance of Ramadan.

Temple Israel’s synagogue opened in August 2013, just before Rosh Hashanah. Countryside Community Church will break ground on June 5, with plans to open in time for Christmas next year.

A fourth building, for interfaith gatherings, is planned for later.

Ironically, the historical name of a stream running through the religious campus is Hell Creek — over which, leaders say, people someday will walk on “Heaven’s Bridge.”

The overall project, funded by donations, is estimated to cost $60 million.

Many cities offer interfaith gatherings, but Omaha has taken a large step beyond that.

Although houses of worship from the three great Abrahamic faiths sit in proximity to one another in some other locales, no place else has done what Omaha is doing — intentionally locating separate faith buildings on the same plot of land.

It began, in a sense, on 9/11. That’s when Aryeh Azriel, then the senior rabbi of Temple Israel, gathered some of his congregants to guard a mosque against possible vandalism.

The gesture made an impact and led to interfaith meetings, including Christians — and a March 27, 2009, gathering of more than 1,000 people, “Dinner at Abraham’s Tent: Conversations in Peace.”

Leaders of the umbrella Tri-Faith Initiative later found the site, helped raise money and moved the project forward.

It has faced little public opposition, though Paul Anderson, a City Council candidate who dropped out of the race Monday, criticized the mosque in a radio ad. Anderson later said he regretted his choice of words and is not anti-immigrant or anti-Muslim.

The three clerics who recently visited Omaha had been invited to conduct a retreat for members of the initiative. The trio stayed for the April 2 awards brunch of Inclusive Communities, a separate organization formerly known as the Conference of Christians and Jews.

The Tri-Faith Initiative received the 2017 humanitarian award. Gene Haynes, principal of Omaha North High, received the Otto Swanson Spirit of Service Award. Nate Johnson, a Ralston High graduate and University of Nebraska at Omaha student, received the volunteer of the year award.

The speaker was Maria Hinojosa of New York City, an NPR journalist who has worked at CNN, PBS and other networks and founded the nonprofit Futuro Media Group.

Afterward, the visiting clerics jointly talked about their enlightening weekend in Omaha.

The Rev. Syedullah praised the “vision and courage” of tri-faith participants and called the Omaha project a hopeful vision for the world.

Rabbi Gold said that “something really good is happening” and that Omahans had opened their minds and hearts.

Imam Arafat reflected on “how important this visit was,” and praised tri-faith leaders “for making this dream a reality.”

A native of Damascus, Syria, Arafat moved to Baltimore in 1989, became a U.S. citizen and has been heavily involved in interfaith work.

Since 2005, he has conducted programs in 25 countries on “Islam in America” through the U.S. State Department.

At times overseas, he has been booed by Muslims who charge that he’s being used by the U.S. government. An angry mob once blocked his car in Tanzania.

In Omaha, Arafat said in an interview: “We are in need of a reformation of Islamic mentality, of so many Muslims who do not understand what America stands for.”

Meanwhile, he said, many Americans “are being told the wrong story about the true message of Islam. ... One of my prayers is to be able to take a message of peace, harmony and coexistence around the world with the support of the American people.”

Arafat was “very surprised” to learn of Omaha’s tri-faith project and how far it has advanced.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “in Baltimore we don’t hear so much about Omaha. But the personality and spirituality of the people of Omaha has really struck my heart.”

michael.kelly@owh.com, 402-444-1132