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RELIGION AND CUSTOM
There are more than 8,000 followers of Islam in Hong Kong, most of them Chinese who have come to the Colony during the past two decades. The other members of the Muslim community are mainly from Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Persia and from neighbouring regions. They gather for prayers at the Shelley Street and Wongneichong Road Mosques, on Hong Kong Island and at the Nathan Road Mosque in Kowloon.
A board of trustees, comprising representatives of the various sects within the Muslim community, is the co-ordinating body for all religious affairs and is also responsible for the mosques and cemeteries. This board is in the process of being incorporated and will be known as the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Com- munity Fund of Hong Kong. Much charitable work among the Muslim community, including financial help to the needy, hospital- isation and assisted education, is being done by welfare committee set up in recent years by a group of public-spirited women.
The Hindu community numbers more than 8,000 and their reli- gious and social activities centre round a temple in Happy Valley. The community has been associated with Hong Kong since earliest times and the temple itself is considered to be one of the finest in the Far East. In addition to visits by saints, swamis and learned men who give spiritual lectures, a number of festivals are observed, the more important being the Holi Festival, the Birth of Lord Krishna, Shivaratri, Dessahara and Diwali. The Hindu Association of Hong Kong is responsible for the upkeep of the temple, which is also used for meditation periods, for yoga classes open to all com- munities, and for the teaching of Hindi to the Indian community.