Selected Editorials - The Sikh Bulletin

Group, one of the largest tyre distribution companies in the world, he contributed a total of 65million
Arab Emirate Dirhams to build the first ‘legal’ Gurudwara in the United Arab Emirates. It is built on
land donated by the ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The
structure is over 100,000sq foot and has served over 40,000 worshippers in a single day. The Gurudwara
had its opening ceremony in 2012.”
According to Wikipedia, The United Arab Emirates, sometimes simply called the Emirates, or the UAE,
is a country located in the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to
the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar, Iran and Pakistan.
Established on 2nd December 1971, the country is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to
principalities). Each emirate is governed by a hereditary emir who jointly form the Federal Supreme
Council which is the highest legislative and executive body in the country. One of the emirs is selected as
the President of the United Arab Emirates. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai,
Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain.
The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is one of the two centers of commercial and cultural activities, together
with Dubai. Islam is the official religion of the UAE, and Arabic is the official language.
Over the years as the economy of UAE grew, so did its need for man power. In this global movement of
manpower and capital, Sikhs take second seat to no one. According to current estimates there are roughly
50,000 Sikhs in UAE of which 48000 are blue collar workers and 2000 are white collar and
businessmen.
There has been Sikh presence in the Muslim world for a long time but not in the Arab world. There still is
sizeable, though dwindling, population of Sikhs in Afghanistan who are Afghan
nationals. Tehran and Zahedan in Iran have had Sikh populations, primarily
businessmen, going back to prior to 1947. At that time even Mashad, Iran’s second
largest city and close to Afghanistan border, boasted a large Sikh population to even
have a Gurudwara, like the two other Iranian cities.
But by 1960 Mashhad’s Sikh population had dwindled literally to ‘sava lakh khalsa’.
I know that personally because when I was hitchhiking my way from New Delhi to
Seattle in 1960, I stayed with the last Sikh couple in Mashad. Sikhs in Zahedan and
Tehran also played host to me.
An interesting story told to me in Zahedan was that the naming of that city came
about when the father of the last Shah of Iran visited Zahedan and saw the white
bearded Sikh businessmen he named the city Zahedan, home of the pious.
The effort to build Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara began around the year 2002 when the Sangat of
United Arab Emirates felt the need for a better and larger facility to accommodate its increasing
numbers. It took five years of concerted effort just to get the permission to build, which was an
accomplishment in itself and another five years to build.
Unfortunately, by the time the permission came through the world had entered a global recession of 2008.
That made raising funds not an easy task. It taxed the willingness and capacity of the sangat to support the
fund raising effort.
However, two things came together to make it happen; the perseverance and commitment to the cause by
a few dedicated souls and a grand gesture by HIS HIGHNESS SHEIKH MOHAMMED bin RASHID AL
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