Hinduism: Details about 'Hinduism In Mauritania'
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There are many Hindus in Arab states, thanks mainly to the migration of Indian labourers to the oil-rich states around the Persian Gulf.For example, about 60% of the Indian community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates are blue collar workers who live in labour camps, according to the Consulate General of India in Dubai. Although these are primarily single men, there are also many Hindus living in family units in the Arab countries. Hindu temples have been built in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Generally speaking, non-Muslims are not legally permitted to proselytize in these states. The estimated figures for the Hindu population in several Middle Eastern countries is as follows:
The number of Hindus in other Arab countries, including the countries of the Levant and North Africa, is thought to be negligible, though Libya has an Indian community of about 10,000 individuals, many of whom are likely to be Hindu. It is not known whether any Hindu temples exist in these countries. (See Hinduism by country for the sources of these figures, which may need to be adjusted.) Historical backgroundHistorically, links between Arabia and the western coast of India have been strong and persistent. Arab sailors were using the southwest monsoon winds to trade with western Indian ports before the first century CE. An Arab army conquered Sindh in 711. Arab traders settled in Kerala in the 8th century, becoming the ancestors of the Mappilas. In the opposite direction, mediaeval Gujaratis and other Indians traded extensively with Arab and Swahili ports, including Ormuz, Socotra, and Aden. Arab merchants were the dominant carriers of Indian Ocean trade until the Portuguese forcibly supplanted them at the end of the 15th century. Indo-Arabian links were renewed under the British Empire, when many Indians serving in the army or civil service were stationed in Arab lands such as Sudan. The current wave of Indian immigration to the Persian Gulf Arab states dates roughly to the 1960s. Sources
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