Short answers, pulled from the story.
Ibadat Khana, meaning House of Worship, was a meeting house built in 1575 CE by the Mughal Emperor Akbar at Fatehpur Sikri. Akbar used it to host weekly debates among mystics, theologians, and scholars drawn from multiple religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and atheism.
By the late 1580s CE, Akbar founded the Din-i-Ilahi, or Faith of the Divine, drawing on Islamic Sufism, Hindu Bhakti movements, Christian symbols, Zoroastrian fire ceremonies, and Jain elements. Historians have identified only 18 members, all from the upper nobility of Akbar's court, including his minister Birbal.
Ibadat Khana is located at Fatehpur Sikri, on a mound between the Jama Masjid and Jodha Bai's Mahal. Its precise location was confirmed in the early 1980s when K. K. Muhammed, excavating under Professor R. C. Gaur of Aligarh Muslim University, uncovered steps, platforms, and a boundary wall that matched a painting from Akbar's period.
Jain Acharyas Hir Vijay Suri and Jin Chandra Suri influenced Akbar to give up non-vegetarian food. He also declared Amari, the non-killing of animals, on Jain holy days including Paryushan and Mahavir Jayanti, and rolled back the Jizya tax from Jain pilgrimage places such as Palitana.
Akbar built Ibadat Khana to hold discussions and debates on the teachings of different religions. His interest was partly inspired by the example of Sulaiman Karrani, a past ruler of Bengal known for spending nights with debating spiritual men, and by news that the Sufi Mirza Sulaiman of Badakshan was arriving at his court.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a poem titled Akbar's Dream that praises the Ibadat Khana and attributes tolerance and humanity to Akbar's Divine Faith. The poem also implicitly criticizes the intolerance of nineteenth-century British Christianity by contrast.