A New Hindu Temple Opens
A new Hindu temple officially opened on October 5th, the day before the Dussehra festival, in what is being described as the “worship village” of Jebel Ali in Dubai where several churches and a Sikh temple are located. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and the Indian ambassador inaugurated the new temple at a celebration where over 200 dignitaries, ambassadors and local community leaders gathered. The temple’s foundation was laid in February 2020 and the celebration of the opening fulfilled a decades-long Indian dream of having a stand-alone place of worship in the area. This is the second temple in Dubai. The first was built in 1958 when the Indian community was about 6,000. Today approximately 3.3 million Indians call Dubai home.
Thousands of visitors from all faiths were welcomed to see the temple’s interiors since the soft opening on September 1st. The temple in Dubai has the capacity to easily accommodate around 1,000 to 1,200 people daily. The large prayer hall has a large 3D-printed pink lotus unfurling across the central dome. Sixteen deities were installed in the temple after special prayers were conducted for each deity. According to the trustees, the deities have been intentionally placed in specific locations according to their independent intelligence and powers. There was great care given to specific Hindu guidelines of architecture as the temple was constructed.
2019 was the year of tolerance in the UAE. It was/is the goal of the government for people of different backgrounds and beliefs to get along and respect each other. With over 200 nationalities represented in the UAE this is an important goal to achieve. However, there is much spiritual darkness in the UAE. The enemy is at work. Christ-followers realize that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12)
Prayer Requests
Pray that Hindus will understand that there is only one God, and He is a jealous god who will crush all other gods. Pray that they will receive Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.
Pray for Christ-followers to be willing to share the Great News with their Hindu friends being patient to answer the many questions that they have.
*Information for this blog was taken from several articles from MSN News and Gulf News