Non Historical Gurdwaras in Middle East Countries

Gurdwaras in Middle East Countries

When we talk of Middle East Countries, we refer to all those Muslim Countries which are situated in the Mid-east portion of Asia. These Countries include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and the countries of UAE. As there is not much potential for rise in career, there are very few Sikhs who have immigrated to these Countries except Dubai. Moreover, there are strict religious restrictions and as such very few Indian, particularly Sikhs are living in these countries. Dubai is an exception. It is not only a great tourist attraction, but, has also grown as head quarter or the branch station of many big companies of the World. In addition to the employment in these companies, a good number of persons have been given work permits for working in educational, medical and technical institutions. A number of persons have been permitted to carry on their business / profession on specified conditions. Thus, whereas there are few Sikhs in other countries of this region (also known as Arab countries), in Dubai the Sikh population living there presently exceeds 50000. There is one Gurdwara each in Qatar, Doha and Oman and two Gurdwara in Bahrain. In Qatar, the gurdwara is situated in Doha, in Oman it is Gurdwara Singh Sabhain Muscat, having contact no. +96896627681.

Gurdwara in Bahrain

There are two Gurdwaras in Bahrain, one at Kanoo Garden, Manama and the second at Salmabad. Salmabad is a place which is about an hour’s drive from Bahrain International Airport. Kanoo Garden Gurdwara is visited by more devotees as it is easier to reach there. Its present location is Road 3910 Block 339, Villa No. 408, Manama, Bahrain. Its contact no. is +918872937402.

The famous Gurdwara in Dubai

In Dubai, not only there is a settled Indian population including Sikhs, a good number of Sikhs from all parts of the world visit Dubai as tourists or as participants in international trade fairs / conferences and functions. Till 2008, there was no Gurdwara in Dubai. The Sikhs used to assemble at a temple place where on a particular floor Sri Guru Granth Sahib was installed and congregations used to take place on specific days.

This place belonging to Sindhis ultimately became popular as a joint religious place for Sikhs and Hindus. The Sikhs in the mean time tried to approach the government for allotting some land for constructing a Gurdwara of their own. S. Surinder Singh Khandhari a renowned business man in Dubai made efforts to convince the government of Gurdwara requirement. Mr. Kandhari, who is also the Captain of the prestigious Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, tried his best to convince the authorities and finally he succeeded.

In his words, “it was hard to explain the Ministry officials even the idea of Sangat and Langar. I had to translate excerpts from Guru Granth Saheb and read out to them. Sikhs don’t worship idols like in Islam, and how the idea of equality was inherent in Sikhism. Once they were convinced that setting up a Gurdwara is not anti-Islamic, things quickly started falling in place. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, was very gracious not only to grant permission for building the Gurdwara but also allotted 25400 square feet of land free for the community.” S. Surinder Singh Khandhari employed best of architects for making it a unique Gurdwara. After completion of the construction this largest Gurdwara of Gulf Region was opened for public in 2010. By 2012, Gurdwara with a unique style of architecture was formally inaugurated in the presence of the High dignitaries of UAE. The Gurdwara was named as Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar.

Recently Guru Nanak Darbar Sikh Temple was in global news for creating a Guinness World Record for hosting a continental breakfast for most number of nationalities in one go. There were 101 different nationalities registered and over 600 people were in attendance. It had almost doubled the previous record of 55 nationalities, achieved by Nutella at the Milan Expo in Italy in 2015. On various fronts, we are talking about globalization and international peace. Amid all this, such developments are very encouraging. Sikh community is known for its values of tolerance and sacrifice and this is the time to live up to them in true sense. The contact no. of the gurdwara Guru nanak Darbar is +97148827550.

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