Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

is the 3rd largest religion in Saudi Arabia, followed by nearly 1.3% of total population residing in the nation. As of 2020, there were nearly 451,347

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

residing in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, among whom most of them were from Indians and

Nepalis Nepalis (English: Nepalese ; ne, नेपाली) are the citizens of Nepal under the provisions of Nepali nationality law. The country is home to people of many different national origins who are the descendants of immigrants from India, ...

. There has been a large migration of Indians to

, with the number of Hindus also witnessing a growth.

Background

is an Islamic

theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...

. Sunni Islam is the official and state religion of the state and practice of any religion, other than Islam publicly is not allowed. Only

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

are allowed to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality and all of the

living in the nation are foreigner based

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

s and tourists on working and tourist permits. Though in the recent years, many Indians have migrated to Saudi Arabia for employment, earlier most of them were Muslim, but after 2001 there has been an increase in population of other religions, mainly Hindus and was also accompanied by the

Nepali diaspora The current population of Nepal is 29,192,480 as per the 2021 census. The population growth rate is 0.93% per year. In the 2011 census, Nepal's population was approximately 26 million people with a population growth rate of 1.35% and a ...

, out of whom the majority were Hindus which has

lead as the fastest growing

religion in Saudi Arabia Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia. Law requires citizens to be Muslim, and, public worship by adherents of religions other than Islam is forbidden. Any non-Muslim foreigner attempting to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality must convert to I ...

. Though having an adequate population of Hindus, there is no

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

or any other place of worship for non-Muslims and the

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freed ...

of non-Muslims is very much limited.

Persecution

Like other non-Muslim religions, Hindus are not permitted to worship publicly in Saudi Arabia. There have also been some complaints of destruction of Hindu religious items by Saudi Arabian authorities. Saudi authorities interpret Hindu icons as idols, and

idol worship Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...

is strongly condemned in Islam. This is likely the foundation for the stringent position of Saudi authorities when it comes to idol worshiper religious practice.

are not allowed to leave Islam as it is

punishable by death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

. Proselytizing by non-Muslims, including the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as

Bibles The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a v ...

, Bhagavad Gita, and Ahmedi Books are illegal. On 24 March 2005, Saudi authorities destroyed religious items found in a raid on a makeshift Hindu shrine found in an apartment in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...

.Marshall, Paul. . Freedom House

Demographics

References

{{Asia topic, Hinduism in Religion in Saudi Arabia Hinduism in the Middle East Hinduism in the Arab world Hinduism in Asia Ethnic groups in Saudi Arabia

Background

Persecution

Demographics

See also

References