By Matters India Reporter
Abu Dhabi: The first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will come up on 55,000-square-meter land gifted by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
It will be the first traditional Hindu stone temple in the Middle East, said a spokesperson from the BAPS Swaminarayanan Sanstha that is entrusted with the design, construction and management of the temple. BAPS or Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha is a socio-spiritual Hindu organization with its roots in the Vedas.
Unique and outstanding in its architectural marvel, the temple will be hand-carved by Indian temple artisans and assembled in the UAE, he said. BAPS manages 1,200 temples in India, the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and Africa.
Its groundbreaking ceremony was held in February during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to the UAE. The Indian prime minister flagged off the laying of the temple’s foundation stone during a community event at the Dubai Opera House. The ceremony was live-streamed into the Dubai Opera House in an instance of tradition meeting technology, according to Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri.
The UAE has two Hindu temples in Dubai. Devotees from Abu Dhabi and other emirates have to drive to Dubai for prayers and offerings.
The temple, which will be the Middle East’s largest Hindu temple, will be modeled on the Akshardham temple in New Delhi. As the Middle East’s first traditional Hindu stone temple, it will feature intricate architecture and delicate carvings that will re-tell ancient stories from Indian scriptures about peace and spirituality.
Arches, pillars and domes interlaced with motifs of peacocks, elephants, trees and flowers will greet visitors. It will include a visitors’ centre, prayer halls, exhibitions, learning areas, sports area for children and youth, thematic gardens, water features, a food court, a books and gift shop and other facilities.
Panels of marble and stone will be handcrafted by artisans in Pindvada, Sikandra and other rural workshops in Rajasthan and later assembled in Abu Dhabi.
It will serve the over 3.3 million Indians residing in and the millions of international tourists annually visiting the UAE through interfaith dialogue, pluralism and universal human values, said a BAPS spokesman.
Virtually every nationality on earth is represented in the UAE’s vibrant workforce and the government has progressively catered to their differing religious and cultural needs with generous grants of lands and funds.
The UAE’s liturgical landscape already features more places of non-Muslim worship than all the GCC countries combined.
The first Hindu temple in Dubai, inaugurated as early as 1958, served the religious needs of the Hindu and Sikh communities for decades, until the latter were granted land to build the UAE’s first gurdwara by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The gurudwara opened its doors to congregants in 2012.